Forgive the Past, Accept the Future
by AnaDona
Summary: When Tony Stark was younger, there was only one woman in his life. But she left him, leaving him to derail and send him on the path of destruction. His one love left with a secret, and many years later, he finally finds out. But can he forgive what happened, and accept what is to come? (Leading to IM1,2, Avengers and IM3).
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hey guys. So, I was slightly bored while sitting in a lecture yesterday morning, and I ended up writing this. I've been on a bit of a Marvel craze recently, that's the best explanation I have. **

**Anyway, I decided to just post it, see what you lovely people think. If people like the idea, then I may just have to carry on with it. **

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Tony Stark sat at his desk. He was bored out of his mind, and it was not even lunchtime yet. He was glad when his assistant, Miss Pepper Potts, walked into the office, a smile on her face and a coffee in her hand.

"This letter was just delivered. It seems to be important." Pepper told him, placing the coffee on the table as well as the letter.

He looked down it at, the handwriting on the front was familiar to him, like he had seen it so many times before. "Thank you, Miss Potts." He said, studying the handwriting some more.

"Will there be anything else, Mr Stark?"

"No, that will be all." She nodded at him before leaving the room. Once she was gone he carefully opened the white envelope and pulled out the letter inside. As he opened the folded paper, a few photographs slipped out. He let out a sigh, assuming that it was from some crazed woman who adored him.

He was going to just dismiss the letter, but he was still intrigued by the familiarity of the writing and decided that he may as well see what the person was writing to him for.

_"Dear Tony,_

_17 years have passed since you last saw me, but I beg of you, please read this letter before you decide to burn it. Life can sometimes be cruel and unkind, we both know that well. But sometimes the most wonderful things can happen as well. _

_I owe you an explanation, and understand that I do not want your forgiveness, only for you to finally know the truth. We had so many good years together, even though we were still young, and I do not regret a single second of it. You were my life, Tony. But things changed. You had to take your fathers place and take the reins of Stark Industries. _

_Life for you became more difficult, you were put under more pressure and I could see you struggling to deal with it all at first. The constant hounding of the press, the running of the company, and having a personal life took its toll. I saw it every day. _

_Then came the drinking. And I guess that was what helped me to make my decision. I didn't leave because of you, Tony, I left for you. I had to let you go so that you could live your life and be happy. There was so much going on in your life, and what I have to tell you next would have destroyed you. _

_When I left, I was pregnant. I never told you because of the stress you were under, I didn't know how you would react. I admit, I was scared. I would have wanted nothing more than for the three of us to live a happy life together. But I couldn't see that happening, you're Tony Stark after all. _

_Her name is Ruby, and she has just turned 16. She takes after you in so many ways, the resemblance is astounding, but you can see that for yourself. She graduated several years early, Ruby seems to have taken the Stark intellect as well. _

_Mechanics and robotics are her main interests, much like yours and she spends so much time working on her projects. She is an amazing young lady, and I am sure you would be proud of her. _

_Ruby doesn't know who her father is, I never had the courage to tell her. She has always asked about her father, and I have always told her that none of this has ever been your fault. I explained that I left you without even telling you I was pregnant, and that she was never to blame you. _

_There is a reason I am telling you this now, Tony. I know it is unfair that I have kept this from you for so long, and I understand how much hatred you may have for me. But please, understand that I done this for both you and Ruby. She's managed to lead a relatively normal life, and you have lived your own. _

_My time is running short, my body is plagued with cancer. Ruby knows this, and she has been nothing but an angel. But I do not have long left now, a few weeks at the most. I knew that it was time to tell you before it was too late. _

_Please, Tony, do not go looking for Ruby. She has enough information to work out who her father is, and if she wants to find you then that is her choice. But I ask you, do not turn her away. You're all she has left now. _

_There has only ever been one man that I have loved, and that man is you. I made some bad choices in my life, leaving you and not telling you about our daughter is my biggest regret. I wish I had told you sooner, but I never found the courage. _

_Just look at the photographs, you can see how much she looks like you. Her attitude can sometimes be like yours as well, it was very hard to deal with a teenage girl that takes after Tony Stark. _

_This is my last and only request, Tony. Do not try to find her, let her come to you. And if she does, accept her. You know I would not lie to you, this is not a trick or a trap to get money from you. She is your daughter, in every way. Do not make her suffer for my mistakes._

_Remember, Tony, I love you just as much now as I did back then. Look after our daughter. _

_All my love,_

_Jasmine Matthews." _

Tony sat there with his mouth hanging open. He didn't know what to think about the letter. Jasmine had been the only woman he had ever truly loved, and after she left him, his whole world fell apart. He had tried to find her, to ask her why she left, but every time he thought he had found her, she wasn't there.

He quickly logged onto his computer and started his search for Jasmine Matthews. When the page loaded, his heart sank. She had passed away the previous day, from cancer. He hadn't doubted that she had been telling the truth, she had always been an honest woman.

Tony wasn't sure how long he sat there for, just staring at the screen to his computer, but the tears had built in his eyes. She was dead, and he had a daughter. That was not quite how he had seen his day going. He certainly wasn't bored now.

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**A/N: So, this is the party where I ask you for reviews. I just want to know what you guys think of the idea. As I said, it was just something that I came up with during a lecture. If people like the idea, I will continue it, otherwise I'll just leave it. **

**Pippa.**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys, thank you for the reviews. I'm still working on the next few chapters, but I thought I'd give you this one. I'm currently stuck in hospital (down in the cafe with my netbook at the moment) and it's boring.**

**I hope this chapter answers a few questions that people have messaged me about. If not, then let me know and I will try to clear it all up. **

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Tony Stark stood in the background with his assistant Virginia 'Pepper' Potts. His eyes were fixed on the woman with dark curls standing amongst a small crowd of people.

"Is that her?" Pepper whispered to him, watching as the coffin was lowered into the ground. The man just nodded at her slightly. "And are you going to talk to her at all?" The woman wondered. When she had found Tony sitting in his office, completely phased out from the world, she panicked. When he opened up and told her what had happened, she was speechless.

Then Tony had insisted on going to the funeral. He didn't care if people saw him there, someone would remember who the woman was and how important she had been to him. It wouldn't take long for the world to figure out what had happened and what was going on. His private life never stayed private for very long.

"No. Jas didn't want me to go looking for her. I can't just walk over there and say, 'Hey, I'm Tony Stark. I knew your mother. Oh, and by the way, I'm your dad.' Yeah, that would work." He replied quietly. In all honesty, he did want to go over there and speak with her. Tony Stark didn't usually care about the repercussions of his actions, he generally left that for Pepper Potts to deal with. But he just couldn't do it, not today, not to his daughter.

"Then what are you going to do, Tony?" She asked as the crowd started to thin out. The service was over, and everyone was beginning to depart.

"Exactly what her mother asked me to do. Nothing. She didn't want me to interfere, so I'm not going to." The look on Pepper's face showed that she wasn't convinced with what he was saying. "It was her last wish, Pepper. If Ruby wants to find her father, she has everything to do that. Jasmine said that she has the Stark intellect, she can prove that by working it out." He told her, the smallest hint of a smile on his face.

There were only two people left by the open grave now, a dark haired young woman, and a tall man with light brown hair. Tony frowned as he saw the man wrapped his arms around the woman, his daughter. When the man let her go, they headed over to a dark blue car, where the man pulled out a large black bag and passed it to her.

She took the bag from him, before giving him a kiss on the cheek and turning away. Even at a distance, Tony could see the tears in her eyes. She hadn't shed any, she had held everything in, the kind of thing that he would do. Something else that he noticed was the look of determination on her face, and he wondered what she was thinking.

Tony and Pepper stayed there watching, as the blue car drove away and the woman disappeared in the distance. Now that everyone was gone, it was Tony's turn to say goodbye to the woman who had been his life.

He could understand why she had left him, why she had never told him about their daughter, and he didn't hate her for it. He was disappointed that she felt he wouldn't be able to cope with having a family. But he knew her, and he could see her reasoning.

"She's beautiful, Jas. You've done an amazing job with her. I know you didn't want me to find her, but I wanted to be here, to say goodbye properly. I'll always remember you, Jasmine Matthews, and it will forever be you." Tony said, before dropping a single red rose onto the coffin below.

He slowly turned around and walked back to where Pepper was waiting for him. He was trying so hard to keep himself together, to not let his emotions show through. Tony Stark was good at doing that, putting on a hard outer shell so that no one could see what was really going on behind those brown eyes of his.

"Time to go, Miss Potts." He said, walking past her and over towards the Rolls Royce that was waiting for them. He had said his goodbye, and he had seen his daughter in the flesh. Now he just had to wait and hope that she really would come and find him.

As Tony and Pepper left, Ruby Matthews was finishing getting changed. The sleek black dress that she had been wearing for her mothers funeral was now safely folded and in her bag and she walked out of the building wearing her denim shorts and purple tank top. Her high-heeled black shoes were no longer on her feet, and instead she wore a pair of purple converse trainers.

Ruby watched as the two strangers who had been present drove away in a rather expensive black car. She had been suspicious of them, because she had never seen them before, but the man looked familiar, like she had seen him somewhere before.

She shook it off and pulled her phone out of her pocket. "SWAIN, what's the plan from here?" She said, touching the earpiece she had just put in.

"Before your mother moved to Denver, she lived in Los Angeles. I would recommend starting there, miss." Came a male, British voice in her ear.

"California, nice. So, what do you say then, SWAIN? Road trip to LA, give Maggie-May one last run before it time to head to the junk yard?" She asked, a small smile on her face.

"I think she should make one last trip, Miss Matthews."

The woman let out a groan. "Remind me to reconfigure you at some point. Stop calling me Miss all the damn time." She moaned. "Why I kept putting it off, I do not know. How long to get there?"

"Drive time is estimated at 15 hours and 35 minutes, calculated using current traffic conditions. Drive time estimated at 13 hours and 20 minutes if you drive how you usually drive, Miss Matthews." SWAIN replied to her.

"Are you telling me I'm a bad driver?" Ruby said in a huff as she got into a slightly old and dirty Audi TT.

"No, miss. I am only pointing out your lack of awareness of the traffic laws, mainly speed limits, red lights and stop signs."

Ruby turned the key in the ignition. "You do know they are only suggestions, right? I'm not the only person in the world who ignores them."

"Of course, miss. And which music would you like for the drive?" SWAIN asked her.

She just shrugged. "Surprise me. 13 hours is a long time, give me a good mix." Ruby replied, before putting the car in drive and heading of out to the main road. She was actually looking forward to the drive, it always helped her to clear her head.

At the moment, she was thinking about what her mother had told her before she passed away. Ruby had found out that her mother had sent a letter to her father, telling him all about his daughter. She had then told her that she was free to go and find him if she wanted, but he had been asked not to find her. Her mother had insisted that if she really wanted to find him and meet him, then she could do it easily.

Ruby knew that she had to try now, to find him. She had none left anymore, her mother's family was all gone and she had very few friends. She spent most of her time working, rather than socialising, unless it was going out and getting completely drunk when she had a bad day.

Her mother had told her that she inherited her father's attitude, and interests as well. Ruby had never been bothered about finding out about her father, she knew there was a reason why her mother walked out on him, she knew everything, apart from who he was. But her mother still liked to talk about him from time to time, and point out the similarities between the pair.

"Miss Matthews, I recommend stopping and getting some rest." SWAIN called to her, after she had been driving for around 7 hours.

"Aw, come on, we're about half way now." Ruby moaned. She was happy to just keep driving, but she would admit that a break for some food would be nice. "Ow, what did you do that for?" She cried, as she absentmindedly touched the earpiece that then pricked her finger.

"Miss Matthews, your blood sugar is low. If you do not stop to eat and rest, I shall be forced to contact the police to have you stopped." SWAIN replied.

Ruby let out a groan. "Right, yeah fine. Why do you have to always bring up the police? Maybe for once, you just ask me nicely rather than threaten me all the time with the police."

"You did not programme me to ask you 'nicely', Miss Matthews."

"Yeah? Well maybe I should change that as well. Put it on the to do list, SWAIN." Ruby said. "Find me a good place to stop at, and by good I mean somewhere that isn't a cheap motel."

"There is a selection of suitable hotels in the area, miss. I highly advise stopping soon."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Okay, don't get so worked up, SWAIN. Just pick and place and I'll stop there for a few hours." She watched as the GPS in the car suddenly changed and she was directed towards a hotel just a short distance away.

It didn't take long for her to check into a hotel and throw herself on the king size bed. She hadn't realised just how tired she was until she felt the soft material beneath her. She was just starting to doze off when SWAIN called in her ear. "Sorry to disturb you, Miss Matthews, but I must inform you that someone is trying to track you."

She immediately sat up on the bed. "What the hell? Why would anyone be interested in tracking me? Block them, send them on a wild goose chase. And see if you can track them back."

"I have already, miss. They currently think you have checked in to a hotel in Kansas."

A smile formed on her face. "Nice job. And who is this mysterious person?"

"I regret to inform you that I am unable to trace them. They seemed to be using highly advanced technology." SWAIN told her.

"Hmm, more advanced than you? Well, that's interesting. How many people out there have that kind of technology?" Ruby asked, trying to work out who it could be and why they would be interested in her.

"There are a few with the capabilities to create that kind of technology. But I am afraid I cannot give you any more information, miss. The list is rather long and would take some time."

She let out a sigh and threw herself back on the bed. "Fine. Set an alarm for 3 hours. I'll grab something else to eat before heading off again. How are the levels looking now?" She asked, her finger once again being pricked by the phone she now had in her hands.

"Much better. You need to make sure you look after yourself, Miss Matthews." SWAIN told her seriously.

"When did I programme you to sound like my mother?" Ruby asked, rolling onto her side and getting more comfortable.

"Was that a rhetorical questions?"

"Yes, it was. Now, 3 hours peace if you don't mind. You're the one who told me to rest so leave me alone to rest." She moaned, actually wanting to get some sleep. It had been a stressful few days, and she hadn't been sleeping well.

She had been spending every waking minute at her mother's side until she died. Ruby had watched the cancer take her away from her, she had seen her going from a bright and energetic person, to someone who couldn't even get out of bed by the end.

There was a loud buzzing sound, and Ruby groaned as she found her phone and tried to stop the noise it was making. "I'm up, I'm up!" She shouted, hoping SWAIN would turn the stupid alarm off. "Christ, SWAIN, turn the damn alarm off." Ruby called, putting the earpiece back in.

"I trust you slept well, Miss Matthews?" SWAIN asked. Ruby was sure that if SWAIN could, he would be smirking.

"Would have been better if that stupid noise had not woke me up. I mean, really? Could you not have used a different sound?" Even though the alarm had now stopped, Ruby could still hear it ringing in her ears.

"This one seems to be the most effective at waking you up, Miss Matthews." SWAIN pointed out.

"What time do you think we're going to get to LA around?" Ruby asked, wandering across the room and to the bathroom.

"Estimated arrival time is 9am, if you leave within the next hour, miss."

Ruby let out a groan. She was going to be driving all night, not the greatest of times to drive, but at least she knew the roads would be quiet, until she hit Vegas of course. Not to mention she wasn't technically allowed to be driving at night. "Book a hotel for when we get to LA. And make sure they stock the room with jelly beans." She called, turning on the tap and splashing water over her face.

She was longing for a nice hot bath, but knew it was going to have to wait until she reached Los Angeles. Ruby Matthews was on a mission, and she was determined to see it through. Her best friend, Liam, had been against it, he didn't want her to leave Denver, he didn't want her to go anywhere.

So many times he had begged and pleaded with her to forget her little trip and just stay there. But she wouldn't, not now. She had someone she wanted to see, after that, she would return home, but not before. She had given Liam to keys to the house she had lived in with her mother, knowing that he would take care of everything until she returned.

If anything was wrong, SWAIN would tell her, he always did. He was rather brilliant like that, that was probably why she never went anywhere without him. Every single device she owned was connected to him. Her phone, her computers, and the damn car she was driving. He was always there for her when she needed him.

Ruby was back on the road again quicker than expected, wanting to just get to LA already so that she could relax a little. "Miss Matthews, you seemed to be highly popular today. There have been several searches on you in the past few hours." SWAIN told her some time later.

"Location?" She asked, not taking her eyes from the road.

"Untraceable. They seemed to be using a very advanced system, which I cannot bypass."

"Well, isn't that peachy." Ruby mumbled. "What exactly is it they are looking for, SWAIN?"

"They are just generic searches, miss. There is very little information about you available to the public."

A smile formed on her face. "Just the way I like it." She said. "Keep an eye on these searches. Make sure they don't go digging around. There's a lot of things that not even my mother knew about me, I don't want anyone else to get their hands on that kind of stuff."

"Of course, Miss Matthews." SWAIN said, before turning the music back up.

Ruby had to admit that she was slightly worried that there was someone interested in her, and the fact that they had the technology to block her. She was good with technology, so her curiosity rose to know that there was someone out there better then her, and interested.

She shook the thoughts out of her head as she made an effort to focus on the road ahead of her. It was well into the early hours of the morning now, and she just had to remind herself that in just a few more hours, she would be able to sleep in a nice comfy bed for as long as she wanted.

The next time she bothered to look at the GPS, she saw that there was less than 15 minutes to go before she reached her hotel. The drive seemed to have just flow by, and she was glad it was almost over.

"SWAIN, you did make sure that my reservation was under an alias, didn't you?" Ruby asked, only just thinking about it.

"I did, Miss Matthews. Rachel Peters room is ready, including the jelly beans."

"Brilliant, thank you." She called back, happy to know that so far everything was going smoothly. "Any more searches?"

"No, miss. They stopped several hours ago. Whoever it was, seemed determined to find something but gave up when they found nothing." SWAIN told her.

A grin stretched across her face. "Good, that's just how it should be. Send Liam a message, tell him I'm almost there and that I will call him at a more decent hour."

The grin was still on her face when she pulled up at the hotel. After grabbing her bags from the boot and handing the keys to the young valet standing there waiting, she headed inside to check in. SWAIN had spared no expense it would seem in picking a rather high-class hotel for her to stay in.

After checking in, the first thing she done was pile a load of jelly beans into her mouth. She loved them, she always had. Then she let herself pass out on the bed, determined to sleep for more than 3 hours. SWAIN was not to wake her unless it was an emergency.

While Ruby was finally getting the sleep that she needed, Tony Stark was waking up. He pulled on some clothes before stepping out of his bedroom and finding Pepper already waiting for him.

"JARVIS told me you were searching for her last night." The woman said, handing him a mug of coffee.

"Yeah. She checked into a hotel in Kansas. What the hell could she be doing in Kansas? And how did she get there so fast as well?" He moaned, trying to work out what his daughter was doing. "And I couldn't find anything else either. Nothing."

"Well, she hasn't lived the high life that you have, Tony. She won't have the media all over her." Pepper reminded him. "And I thought you were going to leave her alone?"

Tony let out a sigh and looked at her. "Pepper, she's 17, still a minor. And she is my daughter. I'm allowed to try and find out what she is up to."

"You really want her to find you, don't you?" She asked him, sensing that he actually wanted to contact his daughter.

"If she's trying to find me, then she's heading the wrong way." Tony pointed out. He was on the west coast, and she was heading east, the opposite direction.

This time it was Pepper who let out a sigh. "Tony, if she is piecing the information she has together, then it may lead her in a different direction to start. Maybe she is doing other things along the way."

He wasn't so easily convinced. There was something else going on, he was sure of it. "JARVIS, are there any cars registered to either Jasmine or Ruby Matthews?" He called, taking a swig of his coffee.

"Yes, sir. I have one Audi TT in silver registered in the name of Jasmine Matthews." He replied.

"Track that car. I want to know where it is right now." Tony called, hoping that he might have a way to find his daughter.

"Of course, sir. Will there be anything else?"

"Is she still in that hotel in Kansas?" He wondered.

"No, sir. She checked out late last night. She has not checked in anywhere else."

"Tony, are you sure you should be doing this?" Pepper asked him in concern. She had a feeling that he was not going to do anything until he had found his daughter, and that included all the work at Stark Industries.

"Like I said, Pepper, she's my daughter and a minor. I'll be in the workshop if you need me." He told her, getting off the couch and heading down the stairs with the mug still in his hands. He was determined to find her, no matter how long it took.

"Sir." JARVIS called. "You have an incoming message from an unknown source."

"What does it say?" Tony asked, not really paying much attention. The message flashed up on the screen. "Give it up, or I'll set the lions on you." He read from the screen. He couldn't help but chuckle a little. "And you can't trace it?"

"No, sir."

"Any luck with the car?" He asked, wondering who the message could have been from, and why JARVIS wasn't able to trace them.

"Not yet, sir. It is actually proving more difficult than expected. I have used the cameras around the area where the hotel was that she checked into, but there has been no sighting of the car." JARVIS told him.

"Okay, so maybe she isn't actually using the car then. Doesn't explain how she managed to get there so quickly." He commented, trying to work it all out in his head. "Has she bought a plane ticket or anything?"

"There are no records, sir."

Tony let out a groan of frustration. Finding his daughter seemed to be harder than he had hoped. Maybe she really was a Stark after all, a sneaky one who didn't want to be found just yet. But he was going to find her, he was all she had left, and she was all he had left of Jasmine. "Just… keep looking, JARVIS."

"Of course, sir."

Tony ended up just sitting there, looking through the pictures he had of his daughter. There was one from every birthday, every school play and event that she was in. Her graduation, her first car and her licence. Jasmine had made sure to give him a picture for all the memories and important days he missed in his daughter's life.

Of course it could never make up for if he had actually been there, but it was something, and it was much better than nothing. Just looking at her, he could see the elements of her mother, but there were those little bits of Tony there as well. Her dark hair was one thing, even if it did have her mother's curls. But he loved her eyes, because they were Jasmines. While Tony's eyes were brown, hers were grey. Ruby had those grey eyes, but they weren't cold, they were sparkling and full of life.

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**A/N: Again, if there is something that is bothering you, please let me know. Also, since this is my first Iron Man fic, suggestions are always helpful, just try not to be too mean, I bruise easy. **

**Well, let me know what you think. Depending on how much people like it, I might try and get another chapter done in the next few days. **

**Pippa.**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys, thank you for your reviews. Out of hospital now, and catching up with uni work, but still have more chapters written. And just to confirm what a few people have asked me, this is set before IM1 and I will be doing the movies.**

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Ruby rolled over in the bed, and cursed when she hit the floor. "Ugh, what time is it?" She called, putting the earpiece that had been on the table.

"Almost 4pm, Miss Matthews." SWAIN replied.

"Oh, okay, not good. I was hoping to do some digging around today." She moaned, rubbing her head as she pulled herself back onto the bed. "So, we know my mother used to live in LA. What was that company that you said she used to work for?" Ruby had to admit, sometimes she just didn't bother to pay attention and drifted off into her own little world.

"That would be Stark Industries, miss."

"Stark? As in that playboy, Tony Stark's company?" Ruby asked, slightly unable to believe what she had heard. She knew about that company, the things they made and the attitude of its CEO.

"That is correct. Although, this was almost 20 years ago." SWAIN told her.

Ruby bit her lip, she wasn't sure how she was feeling about dealing with that company. "We got any contacts at Stark Industries?" She had contacts all over the place, but it was never certain if they would come through for her.

"I am afraid not, Miss Matthews."

Ruby let out a sigh, that's exactly what she was afraid of hearing from him. "Great. That place is going to be like a fortress. No one there is going to want to talk to me and answer questions about my mother." She moaned. It really wasn't going to be easy for her.

"Miss Matthews, someone is trying to hack into my systems." SWAIN told her.

She sat up immediately and pulled her laptop out of her bag, "Oh, really? We'll see about that." She mumbled, tapping away at the keyboard. "Time to release the lions."

Tony sat at his desk with a frown on his face. "JARVIS, what the hell is going on?" He asked, watching as all the screens in his workshop went off.

"Sir, I have an incoming message." JARVIS replied, before every single screen came back on, all showing the same message, 'Enjoy the lions.' "Sir, it would appear someone has infected my system with a virus."

"What? That's not possible." Tony called, his hands moving rapidly across his keyboard as he worked. "How the hell did they get past your firewall and security?"

"It would appear they have access to some highly advanced technology, Si… Si… Si…" Tony's frown deepened as his artificial intelligence began to stutter.

"Come on, JARVIS. Help daddy out here." Tony mumbled, as he tried to get some form of control over his system again. Whoever had done this, knew what they were doing. They had blocked him out from everything, and completely taken JARVIS offline. "Oh, you are going to pay for this." He mumbled to himself.

Ruby was sitting there with a smug grin on her face. "How did they like their lions?" She asked SWAIN.

"The system is still unresponsive. I believe you have accomplished your mission of taking them out." He replied to her.

She couldn't help but chuckle a little to herself. Someone had tried to hack her, so she had just hacked them right back. That was why she loved SWAIN so much, he was excellent for hacking and sending out viruses. "Never mess with Ruby Matthews."

She tossed some jellybeans into her mouth and happily chewed away on them. She was feeling rather pleased with herself, until her laptop screen went black. "Um, SWAIN?"

'Game on. You have no idea who you're messing with.' Flashed up on the screen, followed by a blinking curser.

"Oh, is that so? I do love a good game." She said to herself, before typing a reply. 'Bring it. You have no idea who you're messing with.' She replied, grinning away. It was rather fun, playing a little game with someone who thought they could get the better of her.

'You know, it won't take me long to find you.'

'I bet I can find you first.' Ruby sent, not letting her grin fade. It had been a long time since she had done anything like that, she had put it behind her, mostly.

'Do you really not know who you're dealing with?' Flashed up on the screen.

She rolled her eyes. 'If I did, you'd already be down and out.' She grabbed hold of her phone, and started to reboot SWAIN, clearly the person had knocked him offline, that was how they had managed to get in.

'Is that a threat?'

'No. But I still know that I can find you, before you find me. So game on.' She typed, just as SWAIN came back online. "SWAIN, track it, right now. That asshole kicked you off and think's he can play with us. Let's show him what we are really made of."

"Tracking now, Miss Matthews."

'I could be on the other side of the world for all you know.'

'And yet here you are, thinking you're better than everyone else.' She was not going to let that person win, she was not going to let them think for even a second that they could out do her. "Come on SWAIN, I'm kind of in a hurry here."

A minute later, a new message appeared on the screen. 'Oh, I know I'm better than everyone else. It's time you realised that as well.'

"Origin seems to be located in Malibu. They are using several different satellites to reroute the messages, Miss Matthews." SWAIN told her.

"Thank you very much. See if you can get a more accurate pin point on them." She couldn't help but smile to herself, this was so much fun for her. 'How's the weather in Malibu?' She typed confidently. There was no way that SWAIN could be wrong, that just wasn't possible.

She waited, and waited, but no response came. "The connection has been terminated, miss. I was unable to complete the full trace." SWAIN told her, as her laptop rebooted.

"Oh well, must have scared them off when I asked them about Malibu. Do we know anyone in Malibu?" Ruby asked, feeling a little deflated that the fun was over so quickly. Hacking was just one of her many skills, one that had gotten her into trouble a few times.

"I have no records of any contacts in Malibu, Miss Matthews."

"That's a shame. Guess we're just going to have to wait till he tries something else. Going to have to give you a little security upgrade tonight as well it seems." Ruby said, opening up a programme on her laptop and tapping away at the keys. She knew what she was doing, and it was going to take her a good few hours to get it finished. "Send Liam a message, tell him I'm fine and will call him tomorrow."

"Of course, Miss Matthews. Will there be anything else?"

"Nope, that's all for now, SWAIN. Just make sure that asshole doesn't do any serious damage."

While Ruby worked on upgrading the security for SWAIN, Tony Stark was doing the exact same thing for JARVIS. He was more than just a little frustrated now, because whoever that was, had managed to track him. They knew he was in Malibu, and yet JARVIS had been unable to find out where they were.

His mood wasn't improved by the fact that he still had no idea where his daughter was. He didn't want to admit it, but he really was worried about her. He remembered the way he felt after both his parents died, and then when her mother had left. He turned to the drink, and gambling, and sleeping with anyone and everyone. If Ruby really was like him, she could get herself into a lot of trouble.

He didn't want that for her. He didn't want her to take to the bottle, to think that alcohol could solve everything. He had learnt that it couldn't, but he still done it anyway, because what else was there left for him? Now he had a real reason, he had a daughter that he had never met, he had someone to look after and care for.

"Have you managed to get back into that system yet, JARVIS?" Tony called, taking a large swig of his coffee. He was planning on pulling an all-nighter if he had to, he had two things he needed to be doing.

"I am afraid not, sir. They were lost the moment you terminated the connection." JARVIS informed him.

"And what about Ruby?" He wasn't holding out much hope that there was going to be any news on her yet either. Wherever she was, he just hoped that she was safe.

"No, sir. I am sure she is capable of taking care of herself, sir. After all, she is your daughter." JARVIS replied.

"And what exactly do you mean by that?" Tony asked in a bit of a huff. He didn't like it when his A.I got clever with him. He was meant to be the genius, not the other way around.

"Sir, I was only saying that she is probably tougher than she looks. Did you not say she had the Stark intellect as well? I am sure she is capable of looking after herself."

Tony knew he was right, but he couldn't stop the worry. "Fine, let's just get this upgrade done." He muttered, still feeling rather low.

All he wanted was to know that she was safe for now. The moment he had seen her, standing over her mother's grave, something had sparked inside of him. Over the years, many women have claimed their children were his, of course the DNA tests proved otherwise and the cases were dismissed. This time it was different, because he knew Jasmine wouldn't lie to him. She had no reason to.

Most of the time, the women wanted money or attention. If Jasmine had been desperate for money, she could have told him the truth sooner. And it was clear that she didn't want the attention of him nor the media for herself or their daughter, that was why she had kept it a secret. He trusted her, and the moment he saw Ruby, he knew she was his.

Ruby woke up, lying in an awkward position on the hotel bed. She couldn't remember what time she had finally fallen asleep, but judging by the brightness outside of the windows, it must have been well into the early hours.

"Morning, SWAIN." She called, putting her earpiece back in. That was the only problem being away from home, she always had to have the earpiece in to hear SWAIN.

"Good morning, Miss Matthews. The security upgrade has been completed and there have been no more attempts to infiltrate my systems." He replied to her.

"Good. One less thing to worry about today. I'm going to go and take a nice, long, hot bath. Order me some room service, please. You know what I like in the morning." Ruby called, heading into the grand bathroom in her room.

She had been longing for a bath, and now she was finally getting the chance to relax and enjoy it. She really did need some down time, and a good soak in the bath sometimes helped her to think.

Ruby had only been in the water for 10 minutes when something sprang to her mind. She leaned over and grabbed her earpiece. "SWAIN, I need you to do a search for me. I can't believe I didn't just do this before. Search Jasmine Matthews Stark Industries." She called.

"I believe your lack of sleep and food may have been the reason why this did not occur to you sooner, Miss Matthews." SWAIN replied to her.

She let out a sigh. "Just… do it. Please. I'll take a look at everything once I'm done in here." She tugged the earpiece away and dropped it on the towel beside the bathtub, before immersing herself fully under the water.

She loved it under the water, ever since she was a kid. It used to scare the life out of her mother sometimes, because she would panic and think she was drowning. But there was a reason she liked it under there, no one could see the tears.

The whole being strong and not letting things get to her act was starting to break, and if she weren't careful, she would get herself into trouble. She couldn't do that, not when there was no one left to bail her out, literally. She had been arrested a few times, well taken to the police station and had a stern telling off.

The one time she got into serious trouble, someone she had never met before stepped in and helped her out, wiping her record clean. When she had asked her mother about him, she just said that he was a friend, looking out for her and that he would help her again if she needed it.

She wondered if she needed that man now, to help her find her father. No, she was going to going to give it a damn good try on her own first. If her mother thought she could find him on her own, then she would.

Ruby finally got out of the bath when the water started to make her shiver. It was getting colder, and she was completely relaxed now. She had let the tears out while under the water, so she felt emotionally ready now as well.

She picked up the towel and wrapped it tightly around herself. "Okay, SWAIN, what have we got?" She asked, sitting with her legs crossed on the bed and pulling out her laptop.

"There seem to be several articles featuring your mother and a certain Anthony Stark." SWAIN told her.

Ruby almost choked on the strong back coffee she was drinking. "I'm sorry, my mother and that playboy? Are you being serious? Maybe they screwed up your system when they got in last night."

"It would appear that your mother and Mr Stark were very close."

She let out a sigh, she had a pretty good idea of what was coming next. "And by very close, you mean they were dating, right?"

"That is correct, Miss Matthews."

Ruby pinched the bridge of her nose. "Okay, when does the media say mother walked out on him? And if you say 8 months before I was born, I'm going to turn you into a female." She threatened.

"As you wish, Miss Matthews." SWAIN said, before falling silent.

Ruby frowned. "SWAIN…"

"I am rather accustomed to this voice, Miss Matthews. I would prefer it if you did not make unnecessary modifications to my system."

She shook her head and turned her attention back to the man on the screen. He had been at the funeral, with the other woman, with strawberry blonde hair. "You have got to be kidding me. That cannot be the guy that mother was always talking about. Are there any other connections to her and Stark Industries? Apart from working there and dating that man?"

"I am afraid not, Miss Matthews. It appears you have completed your mission."

"Not yet I haven't." She mumbled. "You know what we have to do now, right?"

"Who would you like to be today, Miss Matthews?" SWAIN asked her.

"Well, since the man loves the press, let's go for Miss Lowes, haven't done the reporter act for a while." She said, getting off the bed and rummaging around through her bag. "Let's just show up at Stark Industries and give the guy a surprise."

Ruby pulled out a sleek black skirt and a pale purple shirt. "Of course, Miss Matthews. Will you be requiring Maggie-May?" SWAIN asked her.

"Not today. Last time I was in LA, I didn't really get to see too much, we might as well take in some of the sights while we're here." She called to SWAIN as she got herself dressed. "Remind me again what colour Miss Lowes hair is?"

"You shall require the long chestnut and the hazel contacts, Miss Mathews."

"You know, SWAIN, I think this is actually going to be fun." There was a smile on her face as she said that. It wasn't the first time she had used a false ID and dressed to play the part as well, and she really hoped it wouldn't be the last.

It wasn't long until she found herself standing outside of Stark Industries. She had to crane her neck to see the top of the building. She wasn't really that impressed it with all. She had done her homework and knew that the company made their name by making weapons. Ruby had hoped that her mother hadn't been involved in that part of the company, and was relieved when SWAIN told her that she was in administration.

"Okay, so what are the chances that we are just going to randomly bump into him without having to go inside that place?" She asked nervously. She never let her nerves get the better of her, but for some reason, that place was freaking her out.

"They are very slim, Miss Matthews. You're best chance to speak with the man is by going inside of the building."

She let out a sigh. "Great, just want I wanted. Let's just scope the area out first." Ruby really wasn't feeling very enthusiastic about the whole day. She didn't want to believe that the man whose name was on the top of the building was the man her mother loved.

As she wandered around outside of the building, trying to build up her courage, she overheard a conversation, from two people she had seen before. "I'm going now." The man said, seemingly a little bored.

"Tony, you can't keep walking out of meetings. And you can't just not show up either." A female voice said to him.

Ruby turned her head sharply and saw Tony Stark standing only a short distance away from her. "I have other things to do, Miss Potts."

Ruby decided that it was either now or never. "Excuse me, Mr Stark?" Ruby called, jogging over to where he was, her reporter's notebook in her hand.

He frowned when he saw her. Something looked familiar about her, but he couldn't quite place it. "The one and only."

"Katie Lowes, Time magazine. You got a few minutes to spare, Mr Stark?" Ruby asked, giving him a hopeful look.

Tony just looked her up and down, before giving her his best smile. "Bit young to be a journalist aren't you? You must be what, 18, 19?"

She just smiled back at him. "Internship. Getting a few words from the great Tony Stark could get me a permanent position there."

"Okay, shoot." He said, putting his hands in the pockets of his suit trousers.

Ruby wondered how to jump in, and what to ask him. Before she realised it, her mouth was moving and words were coming out. "Sources say you were at the funeral of Jasmine Matthews, care to confirm or deny that?"

His face suddenly fell, and Ruby wondered if he was even going to answer her. "Yeah, I was there. If you've done you're homework then you would know…"

"That you and Jasmine Matthews dated, you were pretty close. I have done my homework, Mr Stark."

Tony continued to eye her suspiciously. "Clearly. She was a close friend of mine, I went to pay my respects."

Ruby decided to bite the bullet and see what else he knew. "Rumour has it that you were more than just close friends, and that Jasmine Matthews was the mother of the child you didn't know you had. Want to comment on that?"

"Where did you get this information?" He asked, clearly not happy with the fact that she knew. He wasn't ready for the world to know he had a daughter, not until she was there beside him and he knew it was what she wanted.

"You ask the right questions in the right place, all the information falls together." Ruby told him, holding her head up high and not letting him intimidate her. "So, what do you have to say about that?"

"You know, I can make sure you never work in the media industry ever again." He told her. Ruby knew that she had struck a chord, and she decided that she was going to play it just a little bit more.

She shrugged at him. "Are you embarrassed at the fact that the great playboy, Tony Stark, has a child? Not ready to face being a father yet?"

It was pretty easy to see that he was getting frustrated with the woman now. "I think we're done here." He said, starting to walk away.

"I've done my homework, Mr Stark. Soon enough the name Ruby Matthews is going to be everywhere. I hope you're ready."

That made him stop dead in his tracks and turn back to her. "My daughter has just lost her mother. She doesn't even know who her father is. I don't care how much homework you've done, kid, you leave her out of this." He growled at her.

Ruby didn't really know how to respond. That wasn't the kind of answer she was expecting from him. "So, have you ever even met your own daughter?"

"Why are you so interested in her? You think I'm going to just tell you so that you can make a story out of it all?" He asked her.

"You answer me truthfully, give me a reason not to publish a story about you and your mysterious daughter." She replied calmly. She was actually shaking on the inside, she had no idea how this was going to turn out.

"Fine, here it is. Ruby doesn't know I'm her father. Put yourself in her shoes, would you like to find out by reading about it in the press? She'd be hounded. She isn't used to that kind of life. I don't even know where she is right now."

She nodded back at him, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Thank you for your time, Mr Stark. It was a pleasure to meet you."

"And you, Miss Lowes. Good luck with your internship." He said, hoping she would get the message that he did not want her to print anything about him and his daughter.

"Hey, it's only an internship. And besides, there are plenty of other magazines out there." Ruby replied, shrugging her shoulders at him. "I've actually been thinking of a career change anyway. I've always had a thing for mechanics."

Tony raised an eyebrow at her. "Really? Well, maybe there's a spot for you somewhere at Stark Industries." He turned to face Pepper who was still standing behind him a little. "Miss Potts, give Miss Lowes a contact number." She nodded at him before looking at Ruby again. "I look forward to hearing from you."

She couldn't help but smile. "Oh, you'll be hearing from me, Mr Stark. This is too good an opportunity to miss. I'll let you go now, thank you for your time."

He smiled at her once more before walking away, leaving Pepper to hand her a card with his number on it before she chased after him, starting to moan at him the moment she was close enough.

"Well, that didn't go too bad." She mumbled as she looked at the card in her hand.

"May I enquire as to what your next move shall be, Miss Matthews?" SWAIN called in her ear.

"There are two options on the table here. Continue to find out more about him as Katie Lowes, or show up on his doorstep. What do you think?" She really didn't know what to do. She wanted to find out more about him, but she was desperate to put everything to rest as well.

Ruby knew that the press were going to have a field day when they found out the truth, and Tony had been right, she would get hounded. She didn't know if she was ready for that, but then she didn't know if she would ever be ready. He had grown up with that life, her mother had kept her a secret so that she could live a normal life and just be a kid.

She wasn't a kid anymore, and her mother was gone. Talking to Tony Stark, she saw that her mother had meant a lot to him, he hadn't denied going to her funeral, or the fact that they had a daughter. He was already accepting it, and maybe she should just do the same.

"The longer you keep up this charade, the more trouble you will get yourself into, Miss Matthews." SWAIN informed her. And once again, he was right.

"Fine, let's just get back to the hotel. I need a drink." She said, turning away from the huge building and making her long walk back to her hotel.

The whole conversation she had with the man just kept replying in her mind, and the way he seemed to want to protect his daughter. He didn't really seem like a father figure, but then he had not had the best of relationships with his own father.

* * *

**A/N: Again, thank you for the reviews, they make me smile and it's nice to know someone is reading this. **

**I've got a few tricks up my sleeve for some coming chapters, as well as the movies. I already have my post-it notes all over the place with ideas scrawled on them. **

**Pippa.**


	4. Chapter 3

Ruby sat in the middle of the bed in her hotel room. The glass she had in her hand had been there for a few hours now, and she had hardly touched it. Her mind was in turmoil, she just didn't know what she should be doing.

"I mean, seriously, he couldn't handle having a kid. He likes to go out to parties, get drunk, and bring a different woman home every night. He's not very responsible, he is certainly not a good role model." She called to no one in particular.

"May I remind you how you ended up almost being arrested for drunk and disorderly, on several occasions?" SWAIN replied to her.

"Hey, I'm a teen, it comes with the territory." She retorted, not pleased with the way he had brought that up.

"Mr Stark has only recently found out he is a parent. You cannot learn to be a father over night. It takes time, Miss Matthews. And there is only one way for him to prove to you that he can be a good father." SWAIN reminded her.

Ruby let out a groan. He had been constantly pushing her to just go and see him. "Well, maybe I don't want him as a father. I can look after myself."

"May I also remind you that you are still a minor?"

"Oh, shut up, SWAIN." She said, before putting the glass on the bedside table. "Where does he live?"

"Less than an hours drive, miss. Do you wish for me to have Maggie-May ready for you?"

She bit her lip, weighing up her options. He really was the only family she had left now, and she knew that her mother would have wanted her to find him, rather than carrying on her life alone. Why else would she have even told her in the first place? "You're not going to let me rest until I have seen him, so just do it."

"A wise decision, Miss Matthews." Ruby was sure her would have been smirking at her at that point.

"What do you wear when you're going to meet the man who is your father?" She pondered, looking through her clothing. "Casual? Smart? Maybe I should just show up in my pyjamas and holding a pink fluffy teddy bear. And shout, 'Hey, you're my dad. Can I stay over?' Yeah, that would work."

"I would recommend the purple summer dress your mother gave you, along with the flat purple shoes. It is casual, but also looks very nice on you." SWAIN told her. That was another thing, he had been designed to give her fashion advice, and she couldn't for the life of her remember why she had done that.

"If you say so." She said, shrugging as she found the dress in questions. "If anything goes wrong, I'm blaming this all on you."

Tony Stark was sitting in his workshop, a glass of scotch in his hand as he looked at the pictures once more of his daughter. "JARVIS, have you found her yet?" He called. He was desperate for some news, he needed to know where she was and that she was okay. The last he knew she was in Kansas, but that was a few days ago now.

"I am afraid not, sir." JARVIS replied. He had been trying to find her, looking for any information he could. But nothing was coming up. It was like she had just disappeared.

"Well she has to be out there somewhere, JARVIS. Have you checked all the hospitals? Something could have happened to her." There was a slight panic in his voice. He didn't want something bad to have happened to her, he really didn't.

"Indeed, sir. There is no record of her being checked in to any hospital, or any one of her description."

Tony's frustration was just growing. He was starting to regret not going and talking to her at her mothers funeral. He was starting to think that it would have been better to tell her the truth then, at least he would have spoken to her and would probably know where she was now.

"Have you tried the police?" He asked, not very hopeful.

"Yes, sir. There is nothing." JARVIS informed him.

"Well she can't have just vanished." He shouted, throwing the glass across the room. It shattered as it hit the side of one of his cars.

"Sir, Miss Potts has just arrived." JARVIS told him, hoping that the company of someone he knew and trusted would calm him down. Of course JARVIS had been the one to call her over in the first place, since he was so worried about the way he creator had been acting.

Tony let out a sigh as he pushed himself out of his chair and walked over to the glass doors. "Keep looking for Ruby." He said, before pulling the door open and bounding up the stairs.

"Tony, why haven't you been answering any of my calls?" Pepper asked him in annoyance as he reached the top of the stairs.

"I've been busy." He replied, heading straight for the drinks cabinet and pouring himself out another scotch.

The woman let out a sigh. He had been this way since he had found out he had a daughter. "Tony, you need to calm down and back off. I'm sure that wherever she is, she is safe." She said, trying to reassure him.

"Even JARVIS can't find her, and he can find anyone. Why can't he find my daughter?" He asked her, throwing himself onto the couch.

"Because she's lived a quite life, unlike you. She hasn't been shoved in the spotlight, like you." She reminded him. Of course, Pepper was right, it was hard to find things about someone who had lived a normal and quiet life.

"I can't help it. I'm worried about her, Pepper."

"I know you are, you're her dad after all. I'm sure JARVIS is doing everything he can to find her. Just let him get on with it." She was worried about her boss. She had never seen him act that way before, and she didn't know how to deal with it.

Pepper had been there before, when there had been lawsuits and mothers claiming he was the father. She had dealt with all of that, and she could handle that. But this was something so different, because Tony had no doubt in his mind that he was a father, and it seemed that he wanted to be a father to Ruby.

"Well, he needs to hurry up and find her." He muttered. She was all he could think about now, and he didn't know what to do anymore.

Having that reporter talk to him, knowing everything, that had shocked him. And he realised that he really did need to find her before anyone else found out. He didn't want her to see the headline, a picture of her on the front page, claiming Tony Stark as her father. He wanted to be the one to confirm it, not the press.

He also doubted that she would be able to handle the press, he needed to be there to get her through that as well. But if one reporter, who was only an intern, had already managed to work it out, then how long would it be until the rest of the world followed?

"Sir, I have located the Audi TT registered to Jasmine Matthews." JARVIS called, making Tony jump out of his spot on the couch.

"Where is it?" The man asked, his heart pumping a little faster at the prospect of finding his daughter.

"Sir, there is someone at the door." JARVIS said, not answering the question that had been put to him.

"I'll go." Pepper assured him, getting herself up from where she had been sitting and working and heading towards the door.

Less than a minute later, Pepper's voice flooded through the mansion of Tony Stark. "Tony!" She cried. "There's… someone here to see you."

He could tell by the tone of her voice that it was important, or serious, or possibly even both. "JARVIS, where is the damn car?" He shouted, wanting to get an answer before he reached the door.

"It is currently outside, sir." Tony was sure there was a hint of smugness coming from his AI.

He rushed to the door, and looked at the woman standing there in a knee length pale purple dress with matching flat shoes on.

"I'll speak to you later, Tony." Pepper said, knowing that he would rather speak with his daughter alone. He just nodded at her and watched as she walked away and over to her own car.

"Hi, umm, sorry. I know this is weird and stupid and probably not what you were expecting, but I was wondering if you remember a woman called Jasmine Matthews?" She asked, trying not to let the butterflies in her stomach get the better of her.

Tony just nodded at her. "Uh, yeah, I do. Been a long time since I heard that name though." He said, leaning against the doorframe and watching her.

"Well, I was just in the area, and I though I'd… I'm afraid I have some bad news." She was definitely nervous.

"You better come in then. What's your name?" He asked, stepping to one side.

"Oh, I'm Ruby." She told him, trying to avoid eye contact with him.

"Nice name. Come on through." Tony replied, leading her into the living area. He had to admit, he was a little surprised that she was there. How JARVIS hadn't been able to find her before, he had no idea. "So, what's this bad news?" He asked, although he already had a feeling he knew what it was going to be about.

"Jasmine Matthews passed away last week. She… uh, she had cancer. Not many people knew, she didn't… she didn't want to have people fussing over her." Ruby told him, playing with her hands in her lap as she sat on the couch. "I… I found out that you two had been really close at one point. And I just wanted to let you know what had happened to her."

Tony could see how nervous and out of place she felt, and all he wanted to do was embrace her and let her know that he was there for her. "Yeah, she was a good woman. Pretty head strong at times, knew how to get her own way as well." He told her.

"Tell me about it." Ruby mumbled. "I only stopped by to let you know. She was living in Denver, I can give you the address for the place where she is buried if you want." She told him, rummaging through her bag.

"Was she happy?" Tony asked suddenly. Ruby just looked up at him. "Jasmine, was she happy?"

She nodded at him a little. "Yeah, she was."

"And… uh… how is her family doing?"

"She didn't have much family left by the end. Her parents had already passed away, she was the last one left." Ruby told him, not yet daring to mention that she was Jasmine's daughter.

"No… husband? Or kids?" It seemed she wasn't the only one that was nervous.

"She never married. She never had any relationships. But she did leave a daughter behind."

Tony nodded slightly. "How old is she now? And who's looking after her?"

"She recently turned 17. She knows how to look after herself." Ruby said. She clenched her hands tighter in her lap, trying to stop them from shaking so much.

"And how old are you, Ruby?" He asked, wanting the truth to be told already.

"Me? I'm… 17." She couldn't do it. She wasn't ready to tell him who she was and who he was to her. "I have to be going now. I… I have other people to tell." She said, pulling her phone and keys out from her bag. The moment her phone was in her hand, something sharp stabbed her finger. "Ow!" She yelled. "Why, you sneaky little…"

Tony frowned at her. "Everything okay?" He asked, trying not to sound too concerned.

"Oh, yeah. Just got a shock from my phone. It happens from time to time. I think maybe it's time to take it apart." She growled the last bit, hoping that SWAIN would understand her threat. Her phone just bleeped, and gave her the warning that she had been expecting. "Oh, shut up. I know." She mumbled, making it shut up.

"You know, I'm pretty good with technology, want me to take a look at it?" Tony asked, holding his hand out.

"No, it's fine. Nothing I can't fix." She told him, quickly shoving it back in her bag so that he couldn't take it from her hand. "It was nice to meet you, Mr Stark, I'm sorry to have been the bearer of bad news."

That was when he realised that she really was going to just walk out of the door and not tell him anything else. "Wait, what was your last name?"

Ruby turned to face him and let out a sigh. "Matthews."

There was a smirk trying to work its way onto his face. "You're Jasmine's daughter?" She nodded at him. "And you're minor. Which means you shouldn't be looking after yourself."

"Yeah, well. I'm in the process of finding my father. I very much doubt that he would want me after not even knowing I existed for 17 years." She told him, trying to keep herself together.

"What makes you say that?"

"I've done my homework. I know the kind of life he lives. He has enough responsibilities as it is, without having to add a daughter he never knew about into the equation. I'm pretty sure he likes his life the way it is." Ruby was just trying to convince herself that there was no need to tell him, that he wasn't going to be her father.

"You can't know that, Ruby." Tony told her softly. "Are you sure he doesn't know anything about you?"

"He knows. My mother sent him a letter, just before she died. She… she didn't want me to be on my own. She wanted me to find him. And I have." If he really were the man she had been looking for, then he would already know she was his daughter, yet he hadn't mentioned it yet.

"And what did you think of him?" Tony asked her, wondering why she was still playing dumb. Unless she hadn't worked it out yet, in which case he needed to be careful, very careful.

"That he's a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. Or at least he thinks he is. I haven't exactly spent any time with him, so I don't really know him."

The words she had used had described him perfectly. There was no doubt in his mind that she knew it was him. "Then why don't you spend some time with him?"

"Like I said, he has a busy life. He doesn't need to be dealing with a teenager along with a major company."

"Sir, I have an incoming message for Miss Matthews."

Ruby just looked around, wondering where the voice came from. "Who the hell is that?" She asked.

"Oh, that's JARVIS. He's my AI. What's the message, JARVIS?" Tony asked, curious to know who would be contacting her through him.

"That her blood glucose level is seriously low, and that if she doesn't do something about it soon, she will regret it." JARVIS called back to him.

Ruby pulled her phone out of her bag and glared at it. "You are so being dismantled when we get home." She muttered to it, only resulting in the same message flashing across her screen. "Yeah? What you going to do, tell my dad?"

Tony had heard her, and was very interested to know why she was randomly threatening her phone. "Who knows you're here, Ruby?" He asked her.

"Just a friend. A friend that is in starting to get on my last nerve." She replied, ready to toss her phone out of a window.

"They also say that they already have told your father. And wish to know what you are going to do now?" JARVIS called out.

She looked down at the phone in her hand. "You're dead to me." She grumbled, before dropping it back in her bag.

Tony didn't really know what was going on, and Ruby was starting to look a little more and more off colour.

"You know, if you want to call you're friend, that's fine by me." He told her, wondering what to do.

"No, it's fine. I'd recommend you get your AI to block that person though. I know how annoying and irritating they can be at times." Ruby warned him. She knew that SWAIN was going to keep on pestering her now, and she just didn't need that.

"JARVIS, you heard the lady." Tony called, watching her closely.

"Yes, sir."

"Look, I really do need to be going." She told him, wanting to just run away from everything now. Her head was spinning, and she knew that if she didn't do something soon, she was going to black out.

"Yeah, you know, you're not looking so good. Maybe you should stay here for a little bit longer." Tony told her, watching as she swayed a little on her feet.

"I'm fine, really." She insisted, trying to get the world to stop spinning. "Just a little dizziness. I may have neglected to eat much today. I've been a little distracted."

The frown on Tony's face deepened. "Well, maybe you should stay and have something to eat."

"I can look after myself."

"Well clearly you can't. Otherwise there wouldn't be someone sending you messages through my AI to remind you of your blood glucose levels." He quickly replied.

"I've managed on my own so far. I managed to get from Denver to LA on my own." Ruby snapped. She didn't like people interfering in her life, especially since she didn't know if she could really trust the man before her.

"And how did you do that?" Tony asked, moving a little closer to her. He was worried she was just going to pass out.

"Just over 13 hours of driving. I'm leaving now, I really am going." She told him, stumbling through the mansion and towards the main door.

Tony couldn't take it any more. He hadn't gone looking for her, she had come to him. There was nothing in the letter about him not telling her when they met, just that he was not to go looking for her. "You're staying right here, Ruby." He told her. "JARVIS, lock the doors."

She quickly spun around to face him. "You can't keep me here, Mr Stark."

"I can and I will."

"Who the hell do you think you are? You think you can just hold me hostage?" She shouted back at him.

"I think we both know who I am, Ruby. You didn't just come here to tell me about your mother." He was doing his best to stay calm, he didn't want it to turn into a shouting match.

She just pulled her phone out of her bag and started fumbling as she typed a message for SWAIN.

"Sir, someone is trying to override my systems." JARVIS called. "I believe it is the same person who sent the 'lions'."

That grabbed Ruby's attention. "Lions?" She whispered, completely forgetting what she was doing with her phone. That was her thing, like her little trademark, lions. That's what she had sent to the person who had been researching her, and trying to track her. The same person that had taken SWAIN offline after she had kicked their system offline.

"Yeah, some virus that took JARVIS offline for a while. I almost had them as well." Tony told her, not putting two and two together yet.

"This… this is just too much. I can't… I just… Just let me go, Mr Stark. Please." Ruby pleaded.

"What are you so afraid of, Ruby?" He asked.

"That my father is going to just reject me. That I'm going to end up going back to Denver with no family left. That I'll end up in the hands of the child protection services or an orphanage." She told him, without really thinking about it.

"That is not going to happen." He assured her. "What's his name? Your father, tell me his name."

Ruby looked up at him. "Anthony Edward Stark." She whispered.

Tony smiled ant held out his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Ruby Matthews. I'm Anthony Edward Stark, most people just call me Tony."

She slowly held out her hand and took hold of his. "Uh, yeah. Nice to meet you as well, I guess." She mumbled.

"Ruby, you need to sit down now. I'll go grab you something to eat." Tony said, helping her back over to the couch.

"I'm fine, seriously. You're as bad as SWAIN." She told him, but not having the energy to fight him.

"Who's Swain?" He asked her, finally getting her to the couch.

"My friend, the one who sent those messages through to JARVIS." She wasn't ready to tell him anything more about SWAIN just yet, or the fact that it was her who had sent that virus.

"Well, just wait here. I'll be back in a minute." He told her, before disappearing into the kitchen area.

While he was gone, Ruby pulled out her phone and sent a message to SWAIN, asking if he was happy now. He replied that he was, making her groan a little. Sometimes she wondered if he wasn't a lot smarter than she had programmed him to be.

A few minutes later, the man returned, a mug of tea in one hand and a bar of chocolate in the other. "You need sugar. That should ease the symptoms for a while. But you need a proper meal. When was the last time you had one of those?" He asked her, passing her the tea first.

"A long time ago. Before she went into hospital." Ruby whispered to him, taking a large gulp of the tea. She immediately pulled a sour face. "How much sugar did you put in this thing?" She moaned.

"Enough." Tony told her, trying not to smirk at her reaction. "Where are you staying at the moment, Ruby?"

"A hotel in LA."

He frowned. If that was the case, then why had JARVIS not been able to find her? "I know this is difficult, and new, for both of us, but I think you'd be better off staying here tonight." The condition she was in, he didn't want her driving.

"I don't think that's a good idea." She told him, starting to unwrap the chocolate bar. "I don't know you and you don't know me."

"That doesn't matter, I'm your father, your guardian. You're staying here." He told her firmly.

Only Ruby was one step ahead of him. "Nope. You're not my guardian, not in the eyes of the law. And until you have concrete proof that I am your daughter, you have no rights over me what so ever."

He was actually shocked that she had come out with that. He hadn't imagined she was going to put up much of a fight, but she was ready to prove him wrong. "Fine, we'll get the DNA testing done, prove that you are my daughter and then see what rights I have."

Ruby couldn't help but chuckle a little. "You're only saying that to keep me here."

"JARVIS, inform Miss Potts of the situation. First thing tomorrow morning, I want the DNA test ready to go."

"Of course, sir. Will there be anything else?" JARVIS asked him.

"Actually, yeah. Who was trying to override your system?" Tony called, only just remembering about.

Before JARVIS could reply, Ruby spoke up. "I was. My mother always told me I had inherited my fathers brains." She said, before closing her eyes and blacking out.

Tony was rather impressed. She really was his daughter. He pulled the empty mug from her hand and set it down on the table, before gathering her up in his arms. He walked through the mansion, stopping when he reached one of the guest bedrooms. There were several of them, but when she was ready he would let her pick which one she wanted and she could claim it as her own.

He wasn't going to reject her. He truly had loved her mother, and he was determined to do what was right and take care of their daughter.

He placed her down on the bed and gave her one last look before closing the door. His world had changed so much in such a short time. But he was happy, because he had a family, and even though he had lost Jasmine forever, he now had Ruby. And he wasn't going to let anyone take her away from him now.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you guy for the reviews, you're just awesome. And thank you to everyone who has favourited/followed as well. **

**I've started on writing the first movie now, but there is still a few chapters to go before we get anywhere close to that point. But I'm pretty happy with it so far. **

**Anyway, thank you guys again. **

**Pippa.**


	5. Chapter 4

Tony Stark sat on his couch, trying to clear his mind. He hadn't spent long with the young woman, but he could see that she really did have his intellect and that she was stubborn. When she had told him that he had no rights over her, it actually hurt. So now he was determined to get his way and have it proven that she was his daughter.

"JARVIS, have you found what hotel she is staying at?" He called, not really knowing what else to do with his time now.

"I have traced the cars movements back to a rather expensive hotel in Los Angeles." JARVS told him. "However, there is no record of Ruby Matthews checking into the hotel. It would appear she is using an alias."

The man let out a small groan. "No wonder we couldn't find her." She really had been sneaky, using a different name. "Something tells me that she was never really in Kansas either."

"I believe that she has access to some rather advance technology, sir." JARVIS replied to him.

"How advanced?" Tony wondered. There were so many things he wanted to ask her, like how she managed to get to his home in Malibu without JARVIS being able to track her. And how her friend knew about her sugar levels when there was no way anyone could know.

"I would go as far to say she would be able to match your own skill and knowledge, sir."

There was a smirk forming on his face now. "Well, she is a Stark."

"Actually, sir, she is a Matthews." JARVIS told him, making his smirk fade slightly.

"I'll soon change that. Once the DNA test has proved she really is my daughter, I'll make sure her name is changed to Stark." He said.

"Don't I get a say in any of this?" A voice called quietly.

Tony's head quickly turned and he spotted his daughter standing by the doorway. "What are you doing out of bed? You should be resting." He told her, watching her carefully from where he was sitting.

"I couldn't sleep. I'm in a strange house with someone I don't even know. Plus, I'm kind of hungry." She told him, hanging her head so that her hair fell over her face.

"JARVIS, order some Chinese." The man called. "Any special requests?" Tony said, not taking his eyes from his daughter.

"Yeah, no meat. I'm a vegetarian."

Tony's mouth fell open. "Are you serious?" He asked in shock. If she was, life was going to be difficult for him. He wasn't very fond of vegetables, he loved his meat.

"No." She mumbled, trying to cover the smile that was slowly creeping onto her face. "I was, but, uh, my mother started getting a little annoyed. And the smell of burgers was just always too tempting."

He let out a sigh of relief. "Good, I'm not sure I could cope with you being a vegetarian, not with the things I eat."

"You're acting as if I'm going to be eating with you all the time." Ruby said, shuffling into the room and sitting down on the couch, but at a distance from Tony.

"Ruby, I know you don't really want to be here, but I'm not letting you go off on your own."

"I never said I didn't want to be here, Mr Stark. You're just making assumptions." Ruby told him, letting her eyes search the room.

"Can you please not call me Mr Stark, just… call me Tony." He hated being called Mr Stark, that was his father, but he knew she wasn't ready to call him dad. "How are you feeling anyway? Wasn't very clever passing out like that."

"Better, thanks. It was my own fault really. I've just had too much other stuff going on to really bother with other things." She told him. She could see that he was trying to make an effort to talk to her, and she wasn't going to push him away.

"I don't think your mother would be very happy with you not taking care of yourself, do you?" He asked, hoping she was okay with talking about Jasmine.

She let out a groan as she slouched a little on the couch. "You sound just like SWAIN."

"Is, uh, that the guy who you were with at the funeral?" Tony asked her nervously.

She turned and looked at him, a frown on her face. "No. That was Liam. He's my best friend, and before you ask, there is nothing going on between us. He has a fiancée."

"So who is this Swain that you keep talking about? Kind of a weird name if you ask me." Tony said, glad that he was making conversation with her.

"He's… well, he's complex. And it's really difficult to explain." She didn't feel that she was ready to tell him that she had her own AI that had actually attacked his AI. She wasn't sure that would go down too well.

"So, is he your boyfriend?"

Ruby couldn't help but laugh. "No, that is just seriously messed up."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, before Tony decided to keep trying. "So, tell me about yourself. What do you like to do?"

"Well, I graduated high school a while ago, and I… well, I've done some studying at Yale." She told him. "I've always had a thing about science and engineering. I guess I haven't really decided what I want to do yet."

"Yale?" He questioned. If she had really been into engineering, like she said, why had she not gone to MIT?

"Yeah, my mother was just as confused. I made a few strange decision, but I was still rather young and didn't know what I was really doing." Ruby admitted.

"And what about now? Do you know what you want to do now?" He asked her, wanting to find out more about her.

"Not really. Honestly, I've had other things to be dealing with."

Tony just nodded, understanding that the reason would have been Jasmine and her being ill. "Well, you're welcome to come to Stark Industries with me. See if we can find you something there that will interest you."

"There's already something there that interests me." She told him, earning a confused look. "The Arc Reactor."

"How much do you already know about it?" He asked, taking a big interest in what she had to say.

Ruby shrugged at him. "Just what I could find out by digging online. Hacking into Stark Industries turned out to be pretty pointless." She told him, before realising what she had said and clamping her mouth shut.

Tony didn't seem angry, he just chuckled a little. "At least I know my security is doing its job." He commented.

"Yeah, about that…"

She didn't get to finish what she was going to tell him, as there was an announcement from JARVIS. "Sir, the food you have ordered is here."

Tony just smiled at his daughter, before getting up and going to get the food that was waiting for them. Ruby was actually feeling rather calm, calmer than she ever thought she would. She was relieved that he hadn't kicked her out the moment he knew who she was, that had been her biggest fear.

"Here we go." Tony said, returning with a few bags full of food. "Help yourself."

The pair of them sat there in silence as they ate. Every now and then, Tony would ask her how the food was, and she would just nod at him. It was around an hour or so later when they were both finished and just sat on the couch in silence.

"You know, it's getting late. You should probably head back to bed now." Tony suggested.

This was what Ruby had been trying to avoid. She wasn't sure she was ready to spend the night there, they had only just met. "You know, I have got a hotel room that I'm paying for. It's pretty pointless having it and not using it."

Tony just frowned at her. "I told you before, you're staying here, Ruby. I will have your things collected tomorrow."

She let out a sigh, knowing that it was going to be a losing battle, and a battle she didn't really want to have in the first place. "There's an overnight bag in the back of the car. Can you at least get that for me?" She asked him.

"You don't want to get it yourself?"

Ruby scoffed at him. "Like you'd let me. You'd be too scared I would just jump in the car and drive off."

He smirked at her, that was exactly what he would think if she had asked. "Keys." He said, holding his hand out.

"It's unlocked."

"You're not worried about someone stealing it?" He wondered, watching her closely. He could tell that she was exhausted and that she needed to get a good night sleep.

"Not really. Maggie-May has a few… added security features. And I figured that since this was the home of the great Tony Stark, the chances of someone trying to steal her would be slim to none." Ruby told him.

"You named your car Maggie-May?" Tony asked her.

"No, my mother named her car Maggie-May. Come on, you already know it's her car and not mine. My car was… well, let's just say she couldn't handle the upgrades." The truth was, she had not really liked her own car that much, so had made sure to demolish it, in her own special way. Which usually involved a lot of explosions.

"So, you like cars as well then?" Tony had a feeling that she did. That would be something else that they both shared.

"Yeah." She replied, letting out a sigh.

Tony took that as he cue to go out to her car and grab the bag for her. When he opened the door, he was a little shocked to see a message for him flashing on the GPS, telling him to take good care of Miss Matthews. All he could do was assume that it was her friend Swain looking out for her.

When he got back inside, he saw her still sitting on the couch, but with her head now in her hands. "We'll go pick your things up from the hotel tomorrow." He told her as he placed the bag down on the floor beside her.

"Don't you have a company to run?" Ruby reminded him, opening her bag and rummaging through it.

"The company can look after itself. There are more important things to do tomorrow. My PA is coming over first thing, we're getting the DNA done and then we will go and collect your things."

"What if I refuse the DNA?" Ruby asked him. She was a little annoyed that he was just assuming she would go alone with all these things he was planning.

Tony raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you going to?"

"I don't know yet." She said, shrugging at him. "I haven't decided. I know what my mother would have wanted, but I don't know if that's what I want." She pulled a rather unusual looking tablet out of her bag, and began tapping away on it.

He just sat there and watched her. He had no idea what she was doing, and he didn't really know how to ask her. He was still thinking over what she had said, about her not knowing if it was what she wanted. He wouldn't admit it, but that hurt, because he really did want to be a part of her life now.

"Well, we can talk everything over in the morning. Right now, you should probably head to bed." He finally told her.

"Yeah, I probably should. But there are a few things I need to do first." She told him not looking up from the tablet in her hands.

"And what things are those then?" Tony asked curiously.

"Just… checking in with a few friends. Letting them know that I'm okay and not to go out searching for me. Although, I have to say, they would do a better job at trying to find me than what you did. I know it was you who was checking up on me and trying to track me." Ruby said, still focusing on what she was doing.

"How do you know it was me?"

She finally tore her eyes away from the device in her hands and looked at the man that was her father. "Because I'm the one who set the lions on you."

Tony's mouth dropped open as he looked at his daughter. "That was you? Why would you do that? How could you do that?"

"I didn't want to be found, so I sent you on a wild goose chase to Kansas. Then you looked up Maggie-May, that was your warning. There's a reason why there is so little information available about me, I plan on keeping it that way." She told him seriously. "I didn't actually know it was you until JARVIS mentioned the lions."

He didn't know whether to be angry or proud. She had caused him a lot of problems with that virus, but there were very few out there who could override his system and do what she did. "Well, that just proves it. You are definitely my daughter." He told her, giving her a smile.

Ruby let out a sigh. "Yeah, let's wait till the DNA test has been done. If it's okay with you, I think I'll head to bed now, before SWAIN starts nagging at me, again."

"Are you going to tell me who Swain is? Or am I going to have to guess?" Tony asked her, watching as she stood up and grabbed her bag.

She turned and looked at him, giving him a grin. "SWAIN is seriously wicked. See if you can figure the rest out. I'm sure JARVIS can help, after all, he is just a rather very intelligent system. Night." She said, walking off back to the room she had woken up in.

Ruby was rather proud of herself. She had managed to cope much better than she had expected, and she didn't hate the man as much as she thought she might. Sure he had a bit of an attitude, but so did she. There was no doubt in her mind that the DNA test would prove their relation.

She pulled out a pair of cotton shorts and a tee shirt, taking them into the bathroom with her. Ruby quickly washed her face and changed into the clothes she had with her. The stress of the past few weeks were starting to catch up with her, and she knew it wouldn't be long till it took its toll on her.

Once back in the bedroom, she picked up the earpiece that was sitting on the cabinet bedside the bed. "Hey, SWAIN?"

"Yes, Miss Matthews?" He replied in her ear.

"Stop being such a pain. Cut it out with the messages all the time." She told him, throwing her head back into the soft pillow.

"I am only doing what I have been programmed to do, Miss Matthews." He reminded her.

Ruby just let out a sigh, she wasn't in the mood for banter with him. "Whatever, how's Liam? Is everything okay back home?"

"Everything is running smoothly. There have been no problems. Mr Roberts expects you to call him tomorrow, otherwise he is prepared to come here to make sure you really are okay." SWAIN told her.

"Right, fine. Remind me to call him tomorrow afternoon at some point. It's going to be a long day tomorrow, time to get some sleep. Night, SWAIN." She called, ready to pull the earpiece out and place it back down on the side.

"Good night, Miss Matthews. I hope you sleep well." He replied, just before she took it out and set it back down.

The moment her eyes were closed, sleep started to take her over. It really had been a long time since she had slept for more than a few hours. That was how she had been living her life, getting a few hours here and there, never sleeping for more than 3, maybe 4 hours at a time.

Although she was in a place that was unfamiliar to her, with a man she didn't know, she felt strangely at ease. There was only one problem that, she would let her guard down, and the façade that she had been wearing since her mother told her she was dying would fall.

Ruby wasn't the only one who was getting some sleep. Tony had decided to head to his room to catch a few hours as well. Just like her, he had been living off a few hours a night, and plenty of coffee, to keep himself going. He had been too focused on finding his daughter to care about anything else, but now he didn't have to, because she was there with him.

He was feeling a mix of emotions. He was anxious about the DNA, that little hint of doubt creeping into his mind. There was also the strange sense of joy he was experiencing, finding out he had a daughter, one who really did seem to have inherited much from him. But then there was the foreboding feeling that he was not going to be a good father.

His own experience with his father had not been a great one. His father was always work driven, and it was rare for him to spend time with his only child. Tony was determined not to be like that. He didn't want to be like his father, he wanted to be a better man than that. He knew that to do that, he needed to change his attitude and lifestyle.

Tony Stark fell asleep thinking about the woman he had lost and the daughter he had gained. It was going to be a long and bumpy journey for the pair of them, but he was determined to make it work.

It was several hours later when Tony was rudely woke up by JARVIS. "Sir, I am sorry to disturb you, but you may wish to check on Miss Matthews."

He let out a groan as he rolled over onto his back. "What time is it?" Tony grumbled, as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"7am, sir. And I would highly recommend checking on Miss Matthews."

Tony got the hint and pulled on some clothes before heading out of his bedroom. He wandered down the hall and towards the guest room that his daughter was currently staying in. As he got closer, he could hear muffled sounds. He couldn't make out any words, and it wasn't until he was outside of the door that he finally understood what the noise he was hearing was.

"Hey, Ruby? Is everything okay in there?" He called, gently knocking on the door.

The sound he had been hearing quickly quietened down. "Uh, yeah. Fine." Her voice called back through the door, although it sounded a little shaky.

But Tony wasn't convinced. He knew something wasn't right. "Is it okay to come in?"

He heard some rustling before she replied to him. "Yeah, sure. I mean, it's your home."

He clicked the door opened and slowly poked his head into the room. He saw Ruby sitting in the middle of the bed, rapidly wiping her eyes, as if trying to get rid of the evidence. Only it wasn't going to wipe away the redness that he saw. "Hey, what's the matter?" He asked her softly, walking towards her on the bed.

"Nothing. It's fine. Everything's fine." She told him before sniffing a little. She really was trying her hardest not to let him see she had been crying.

"Then why are your eyes red?"

"Because I kept rubbing them, that's all." She told him, trying to pull herself together. Yes, she had been crying, but she didn't want the whole world to know. "What are you doing up so early, anyway? Don't you usually sleep till noon or something?"

Tony just shrugged at her. "Big day today. Pepper will be here soon so we can get the DNA test done. If you want do it, that is?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'll do it. How long will the results take?"

"I'm Tony Stark, I can get them back by tonight." He told her, a slight grin on his face. He loved using his power and influence over others to get what he wanted and to get things quickly.

"Then, can I make a request?" Tony nodded at her. "We don't go to the hotel and get my things until after we have the results."

"Sure, but why?" He was a little confused by her request.

"Just in case. I don't want to have to pack everything up, bring it all here, and then just have to pack it all up again." Ruby told him. "It just makes sense to leave it all there until we are sure."

"You know, I can have JARVIS do the tests and have the results in less than a hour." Tony told her seriously. He couldn't tell if she was having doubts, or if she was just being prepared for all eventualities.

Ruby just looked at him blankly. "So, what are you doing it the long way then? If JARVIS can do everything, why involve outside elements?" She asked.

He knew he had to be honest with her. "Because I want to do this right, Ruby. Through the proper channels, I want it all to be legal."

"But why?" She pressed, wanting to get to the root of his reasoning.

"Because that's what your mother would have wanted. No short cuts, no cheat sheets."

Ruby chuckled a little. "Yeah, she always was one for doing things 'the right way', wasn't she?"

Tony let out a small chuckle himself, just as Ruby's phone started to ring. She looked at the screen and let out a sigh. "Hey Tash, everything is fine." She said. "Yeah, I know he was spying, it's what he does… Well, just smack him, preferably around the head." Tony just looked at his daughter, only able to hear her side of the conversation. "Tasha, I promise not to get into trouble… No, you will not need to come and bail me out any time soon… That happened once!" She cried, but with a smile on her face. "Yeah, tell everyone I said hi… Bye Tash."

"Who was that?" Tony asked, as she put her phone back down on the bed.

"Just a friend, checking up on me. She's got it into her head that I'm only here to wreak havoc."

Tony just grinned at her. "I think you already managed to do that. You owe JARVIS an apology still."

Ruby rolled her eyes at him. "JARVIS, I apologise for infecting you with my lions virus. And hacking into your system, and then trying to override your system. And for anything I may do in future that your oh-so-great creator doesn't approve of." She said, trying her best not to sound sarcastic.

"Accepted, Miss Matthews." JARVIS called, sounding actually… happy.

"But to be fair, you were trying to hack into my system. So technically, it isn't me who needs to be saying sorry." She said, turning to look at Tony.

"What are you looking at me for?" He asked,

"Hey, I gave you a warning. I told you to give it up, but you kept on pushing. So in reality, JARVIS getting the lions is all your fault." There was a smug grin on her face now. "I think you should apologise."

"You're not serious?" He asked, watching as the grin turned into a frown. "You are, aren't you? You want me to apologise for something you done?"

"You started off the chain reaction by not taking notice of the warning. What happened after was of your own doing." She told him calmly. "Also, you crashed my system for around 87 seconds, you need to apologise for that."

"No, see, that's not how it works." He said, trying his best to find a way out of the situation he had managed to get himself into. "Fine, I'm sorry."

Ruby just raised an eyebrow at him. "For?"

"For crashing your system and not taking the hint to leave you alone." He said. It looked as if he was now sulking like a little child.

"There, that was easy wasn't it?" She teased, treating him like a child.

Tony let out a groan. "You sound just like your mother." He moaned to her.

She chuckled a little. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

"Sir, Miss Potts has arrived. And you have a visitor waiting for you as well." JARVIS called to him.

Suddenly, Tony tensed up in fear. Pepper was there, the time to do the DNA test had arrived. He was actually kicking himself for not sneakily doing it during the night while she had been sleeping. "We better get dressed then. I need to introduce you to Pepper properly." He said, getting himself up from where he had been sitting.

"Virginia Potts, also know as Pepper, personal assistant to Tony Stark. She has to deal with not only Stark Industries, but also Mr Stark himself." Ruby told him, stretching out her arms. Tony just looked at her. "Oh yeah, I've done my homework, Mr Stark."

That was when something clicked in his mind. "It was you." He said, barely above a whisper. "Katie Lowes, that intern from… wherever it was. That was you, wasn't it?" He asked her, watching her carefully.

"Uh, yeah. I just wanted to make sure I was on the right track. You know, meet you and find out how much you really knew already." She was now hanging her head, trying to cover her face. "Anyway, I better start getting ready." She picked up her bag and headed into the bathroom and out of sight.

Tony didn't know what to think. She just kept surprising him, and now he was even surer that she was his daughter. Whatever doubt had been there before, had been completely eradicated.

* * *

**A/N: Hey, I hope you guys are enjoying the story. I have a lot planned before we get to the first movie. But trust me, it's going to be good. **

**Let me know what you think by leaving a review, not only do they make me smile but they tend to provide me with motivation, which I seem to lack as of late. Those who read some of my other stories will know that. **

**Pippa. **


	6. Chapter 5

James 'Rhodey' Rhodes sat there on the couch, his mouth hanging open as he looked at Tony and Ruby. "Is this some kind of a joke?" He asked, his eyes wandering from Tony to Ruby.

Ruby snorted a little. "Please, I have much better things to be doing with my time than play childish jokes on people." She told him, before folding her arms across her chest where she was standing.

After Pepper had rushed off to take everything to the lab, Tony had introduced her to his best friend. Who was currently in a complete state of shock at the fact that Tony probably had a teenage daughter.

"Oh God, she's serious. That's… that's just how Jasmine used to look when she was serious as well." Rhodey pointed out. He had know Ruby's mother as well, the three of them had all been really good friends. But when Jasmine left Tony, she left Rhodey as well.

"Yeah, she definitely has her mother's glare." Tony told him, chuckling a little.

"I need a coffee." Ruby mumbled, letting her arms drop to her side as she walked away and into the kitchen area.

"When did you find out, Tony?" Rhodey asked him quietly, not wanting Ruby to overhear them talking about her.

"I got a letter from Jasmine just over a week or so ago now. It arrived the day after she had died. Explained everything in there, she was pregnant when she left." He told him, joining him on the couch.

"Man, I told you something was up. Didn't I tell you?"

Tony just let out a sigh. Yes, his best friend had noticed something was wrong, but he had been too stupid to take notice of anything. "Yeah. Well now I have a teenage daughter to look after."

"Not yet you don't." Ruby called, walking into the room carrying three mugs of coffee. "Like I said, in the eyes of the law you are currently no one and have no rights over me what so ever." She reminded him, handing Rhodey a coffee and placing Tony's down on the table in front of him.

Rhodey just looked at Tony, the confusion etched on his face. "What's she talking about?"

Tony let out a sigh as Ruby sat down on the couch as well. "Jasmine didn't put the name of Ruby's father on her birth certificate. The only way to get that fixed is with the DNA test that Pepper is currently dealing with."

"And until that happens, I would like to remind you that you are not the boss of me. So, if you would be so kind as to get JARVIS to let me out so I can at least go for a walk, that would be nice." Ruby asked, pulling a face as she drank her coffee.

Tony had noticed her face and couldn't help but laugh. "Not used to coffee?" He asked her.

"Oh, I'm used to coffee, it's the damn sugar I can't stand. What I wouldn't give for a sack load of jellybeans right now." She said with a sigh.

Immediately Tony realised what she was talking about. "I'll send Happy out to get you some." He told her, pulling out his phone and sending a message to his personal driver and trainer. "You need to start eating properly, Ruby, or this isn't going to stop." He warned her.

"Yeah, I know. Once everything has calmed down, maybe I will." She informed him, taking another swig of her coffee.

"Miss Matthews, your phone appears to be ringing." JARVIS called to her.

She let out a groan. "Well it can keep on ringing."

"It has been ringing for the past 12 minutes, Miss Matthews."

"I swear, if this is SWAIN just trying to get my attention, I'll set the damn lions on him as well." She grumbled, putting down her mug and heading out of the room.

"Well, she's definitely Jasmine's daughter." Rhodey commented as he watched her go.

"Tell me about it. Jas told me she had a lot of my attitude as well, I'm a little bit worried about that." Tony told him, picking up his mug from the table. "I already know she's smart, and crafty, and stubborn."

"She's a teenager, Tony, what do you expect?" Rhodey said, trying his best not to laugh. The thought of his best friend having to deal with a teenager was hilarious. He was used to Tony acting like the teenager, so he couldn't wait to see how he was going to cope.

"What if I'm useless, Rhodey? I have no idea how to be a father. Jasmine wanted to keep her out of the light of the press, that's why she kept it a secret." There were so many worries running through his head. "What's going to happen when the whole world finds out?"

"Tony, Tony, calm down. You said it yourself, she's smart. I'm sure she can handle it, I bet she's thought about it already." Rhodey assured him.

"I don't know, Rhodey. Her mother seemed to keep check on me, she knew what was going on in my life, every one did."

Rhodey let out a sigh. "Tony, if Jasmine didn't want you to have anything to do with Ruby, you wouldn't know about her, and she wouldn't have found you. This is what Jasmine wanted, she probably spent a lot of time thinking about it."

Tony knew he was right, but he still couldn't help the way that he was feeling about everything. He knew that the minute the press found out, neither of their lives would ever be the same again. She would be thrown into the spotlight, and he would have more pressure on him than ever before.

Ruby returned, a slightly broken phone in her hand. Tony looked at her and chuckled. "Swain?" She just nodded at him. "What did he do this time?"

"He was being annoying, and nosey." She mumbled, fiddling with the phone in her hand.

"So, you decided to break your phone?"

Ruby shook her head at him. "No, I decided to make a few modifications." She told him, clipping the phone back together. "Should keep him occupied for a few hours."

"Okay, I give up." Tony announced, looking at her. "Who the hell is Swain?"

Ruby smirked at him, she had been prepared for this. "Hey, JARVIS, mind if I… uh, hack you for a few minutes?" She didn't really give him a chance to reply, before she hacked him. "SWAIN, you there, you annoying asshole?" She called.

"Indeed, Miss Matthews. And please refrain from using such language." The new British male voice called from nowhere.

"Oh, shut up. SWAIN, meet Tony Stark and James Rhodes. Lads, meet SWAIN, my seriously wicked artificial intelligence node." There was a smug grin on her face, as Tony looked at her in utter shock.

"What the hell did you do?" Tony shouted, panicking a little.

"Um, I kind of… hacked JARVIS… and… gave SWAIN access." She answered nervously.

"JARVIS?" Tony called, wondering if he really was still there.

"Yes, sir?" The British voice that he was accustomed to replied.

"What the hell is going on?" Tony was annoyed, frustrated, and dare he admit it, proud as well.

"If I might, Mr Stark." SWAIN called. "Miss Matthews bypassed the security preventing access to JARVIS. I assure you that no damage has been done to your system."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Right, you can go away now, SWAIN. Go back to your cupboard in Denver." She tapped away at her phone, undoing everything she had just done, and leaving Tony's AI in perfect condition. "Sorry, JARVIS."

"A little more warning next time, Miss Matthews." JARVIS called back to her, sounding slightly annoyed.

She hung her head a little in shame. "Yeah, sorry. I just wanted SWAIN's arrival to be… something we could all remember."

"Okay, I am totally confused. What the hell just happened?" Rhodey asked, looking from Tony to Ruby.

"It would appear that Ruby has her own AI, and she decided the best way to introduce him was by taking control of JARVIS." Tony answered, staring at the young woman before him. "You have some serious explaining to do, young lady." For the first time, Tony Stark actually felt like a father.

Ruby let out a sigh. "Yeah, I guess I do. I, er, set SWAIN up about 8 years ago. Was a lot more basic back then, but as I got older, he became more advanced." She told him, playing with her hands as she stood there. "He, uh, he's kind of helped me through a lot. As well as got me into a lot of trouble at times."

"Wait, wait, wait. You created your own AI when you were 9?" Tony asked her. She just nodded at him. She really did feel like a kid who was being told off now. What happened next surprised not just her, but Rhodey as well. "That's my girl." Tony chuckled, wrapping his arms around her.

"You're… you're not angry?" She whispered, not understanding why he seemed so happy with what she had done.

"Oh, I'm angry. And trust me, when those DNA tests come back, you are so grounded." He told her, chuckling a little. "But you have just proved to me that you really are a Stark, whether you like it or not."

"But you can't ground me just yet." She reminded him with a grin on her face as she pulled away a little. "So I'll just pop outside for a while." She told him, before making a run for the door.

"JARVIS…" Tony called, hoping that his AI would stop her from going outside.

"I am afraid Miss Matthews has overridden your request and unlocked the doors." JARVIS called back to him.

Tony was quick on his feet to chase after her, scared that she would actually just get in her car and drive off. But he was surprised to see her just sitting outside of the door in the sun. "Now, you're double grounded." He told her, folding his arms across his chest.

There was a grin on Ruby's face. "Oh well, it was totally worth it."

He decided to sit down next to her. "How the hell did your mother cope with you?" He wondered.

"Trust me, most of the time she couldn't. She had a lot of help from other people, people who done a lot more than just ground me." She groaned, remembering all the people she had met as she had been growing up.

"What do you mean?" He was very curious to find out about her childhood.

"Well, I caused a lot of trouble, which resulted in me drawing a lot of attention to myself." She told him. "Which is why you can't find much about me on the internet, and why I have so many people checking up on me."

Tony tried to piece it all together. "Like that Tasha, you spoke to?"

Ruby nodded at him. "She's one of them. Actually, she's the only one I really like. Everyone else treated me like a stupid kid, even though I knew a lot more than them. She kind of… trained me."

"Trained you in what?" He asked her, frowning a little.

"Hand to hand combat." She told him simply, not wanting to go into details. It was something she knew had to be kept quiet. "Anyway, shouldn't you be getting back to Rhodey? I swear I am not going anywhere." She insisted.

Tony couldn't help but worry. "You going to be okay on your own?"

Ruby rolled her eyes and waved her phone in front of his face. "I'm never alone with SWAIN around. I… kind of connected him and JARVIS, so if anything is wrong, he will let JARVIS know, who will in turn let you know."

"Great, so now I don't just have JARVIS getting cocky with me, I have to deal with SWAIN as well." He moaned as he pushed himself off the ground.

"SWAIN isn't cocky, just… protective. He has a lot of my mother's personality thrown in, it was kind of to reassure her."

"Yeah, well you have a lot of your mother thrown in as well." Tony commented. "Seriously, that glare of hers used to give me nightmares."

Ruby couldn't stop the laugh from escaping her lips. "Hey, it still gives me nightmares, and it will till the day I die."

"Well, I have you now, so I'm sure it's going to be the same for me now." He told her, giving her his best smile. "Don't stay out here for too long. You still need to eat properly."

"Sir, yes, sir." She said, saluting him before he turned around and went back inside to his best friend.

Ruby was content to just sit there and watch as the world went by. It had been a long time since she had actually just stopped and not don't anything. She had been doing everything for her mother, she had arranged the funeral, and then the task of finding her father. None of it had been easy for her, and no one had been there to help her.

"Miss Matthews, I would like to remind you that you did say you would call Mr Roberts today." SWAIN called to her, breaking her out of her little world.

She let out a sigh. "Sure, call him." While SWAIN connected the call, Ruby carried on looking up at the sky.

_"It's about time."_ A man's voice called as it answered at the other end. _"I thought you were going to call me every day. But no, I have to find out what's going on by asking SWAIN. And even then he won't tell me everything." _

"I know, Liam and I'm sorry. It's been a little… hectic." She told him, rubbing her eyes a little.

_"So have you found him then?"_

"Um, yeah, I think so. We're just waiting for DNA to come back but he's pretty convinced." Ruby told him, wondering if she should tell him who the man was.

_"So, you were worrying over nothing then, Ruby? Even without the DNA he's confident that you're his daughter. You must have made a really good first impression." _Liam said to her. She couldn't help but notice that he seemed a lot more cheery than usual.

"Yeah, I guess. If hacking into his computer system and infecting it with the lions virus is called making a good first impression." She mumbled down the phone.

_"Christ, Ruby. What did you go and do that for?"_ It was clear he was less than happy to have heard what she had done.

"He was bugging me, trying to track me down. I had to do something to stop him. I didn't want him finding me before I found him." Ruby protested. "He attacked SWAIN as well."

_"Well, what do you expect? And besides, I thought you had stopped with all that? Isn't that what Tasha is constantly checking up on you for?" _Liam questioned her. Of course, he knew all about Tasha, and why she had been training Ruby.

"Tasha is checking up on me to make sure she hasn't got to get someone to come and bail me out. I swear, those guys think all I do is cause trouble when I don't. But maybe I should start being the troublemaker they expect if that's all they're ever going to think."

She heard Liam scoff at the end of the phone. _"Now you're just being dramatic. You know why those guys keep check on you. It's not because they think you're a troublemaker. And you know Tasha does care about you right? You're like her little sister or something." _

Ruby couldn't stop herself from laughing a little. "Yeah, right. Anyway, send my love to Val and I promise to talk to you again soon. Once we have the results."

_"Sure, and you look after yourself, Ruby. I don't want SWAIN to be giving me bad news."_

"I'll be fine, Liam. You worry too much, just like everyone else around here does." The both chuckled a little before the call ended, leaving Ruby to sit there with her thoughts once more.

"Miss Matthews." JARVIS called to her. "Mr Stark has had some food prepared and wishes for you to join him."

"Tell him I'm on my way." She said, pushing herself up from the ground and heading back into the mansion.

If someone had told her last week that she would end up in Malibu, waiting to find out if the great Tony Stark was her father, she'd have laughed in their face. But now she was sitting in the kitchen of his mansion, eating lunch or breakfast, or whatever they wanted to call it, with him. It all just seemed so surreal, and Ruby couldn't help but find the whole situation amusing.

Ruby ate in a comfortable silence, while Tony and Rhodey chatted away about something that she clearly wasn't interested in. She was trying to work out what to do with SWAIN if the DNA proved that she was a Stark, because she couldn't cope without him and she doubted Tony would let her go back to Denver and live on her own there.

This was where her feelings became conflicted. She hated being wrong, and being proved wrong just made it even worse, she had told a complete stranger that she has reason to believe he is her father. If it came back that she wasn't, then she would just be completely embarrassed. But if it came back and he really was her father, her life was going to change so much.

She had never had a father, or anyone close to that while she had been growing up. It had always been Ruby and her mother. Plus, she didn't even know the guy, and he had a reputation and a whole life that she was just crashing into.

"Ruby?" Tony called, for about the sixth time.

"Uh, yeah?" There was a confused expression on her face. She had been so far into her own little world that she hadn't realised anyone had been talking to her.

He frowned at her, just sensing that something was wrong. "Everything okay?"

"Yup, everything is fine. I just need a distraction. Mind if I go back outside and do a little tinkering to Maggie-May?" She asked pushing her half empty plate away from her.

"She's not outside anymore." He told her, getting up from where he was sitting. "She's downstairs. Come on, I'll take you down there."

Ruby followed the man down the stairs and into what looked like a cross between a garage and an office. The first thing she noticed was the rows of cars that were lining the room. "Not a bad little collection you have here." She told him.

He just smiled at her and led her over to where Maggie-May was now parked. "If you need anything, just ask JARVIS. And try not to blow anything up."

"But if I do blow something up, how long is the grounding for that?" She asked him curiously. She was especially good at blowing things up, most of the time it was deliberate.

"Depends on the damage, but at least a month."

Ruby just shrugged her shoulders at him. "I can handle that."

"Plus a week for sending JARVIS that virus, add another week for hacking him, and lets add one more for unlocking the doors and letting yourself out." Tony told her, standing there with his arms folding in front of his chest.

"Why don't we just round it up to 2 months? I'm sure I'll do something else before the day is out that warrants me being grounded again. Or maybe several, depending on how I'm feeling." She said, popping the hood open on her mother's car.

Tony didn't really know what to say, it was like she was admitting to planning on causing trouble. "Let's just go the whole hog and say you're grounded until you're 21?" He suggested.

Ruby just looked at him as she pulled out her phone, a smirk on her face. "I'd give it 3 day's before you couldn't handle it anymore and had to unground me." She said, before turning back to her car. "SWAIN, you know what you're looking for." A purple light shone from the back of the phone, scanning everything under the hood of the car.

"What are you looking for?" Tony asked curiously.

The light suddenly disappeared, and Ruby reached her arm in, grunting a little as she felt around for something. "This." She told him, pulling out a small device. "Can I at least blow this up?"

"What is it?"

"Tracking device. SWAIN already blocked the signal from it, so it's pretty useless, but I'd much rather blow the damn thing up." She admitted, glaring at the small chunk of metal in her hand.

Tony took it from her hand and looked it over. "Or you could just do this." He dropped it on the floor and crushed it with his foot.

"Well, that was boring." Ruby grumbled, looking at the pieces on the floor. "Explosions are way more fun."

"So who was tracking you then?" He wondered. He knew that he had been trying to track her, but someone had actually fitted a device to track her.

"Tasha. My guess is she had Liam stick it in there. Unless she actually had some free time and came to do it herself, but I'm betting on it being Liam." She told him, turning her attention back to the car.

"What exactly are you planning on doing to your mother's car?" Tony asked, watching as she leaned over to get a better look inside.

"Take her apart and then put her back together again? Or just give her the once over. Depends on how I'm feeling. I've rebuilt her a few times now, once more wouldn't hurt before she ended up on the scrap heap."

Tony frowned at her. "Why would you send her to the scrap?"

She let out a sigh and turned to face him. "Maggie-May isn't as young as she used to be. And I can't really afford all the parts to get her back into best condition. I wasn't even sure she was going to make it all the way to LA. I will miss her, she's all I have left now."

He could hear the sadness in her voice. The car was her mother's, and clearly she was attached to it more than she wanted to admit. "Just don't make a mess. And like I said, no blowing things up."

Ruby mock saluted him, before turning her attention back to the car. He watched her for a minute, before heading back up the stairs and to where Rhodey was still sitting.

"Everything okay, Tony?" He asked, putting a fresh mug of coffee on the table for him.

"Yeah, I just wish those stupid results would hurry up." Tony was a little frustrated now, because he wanted so badly for her to be his daughter, and he couldn't explain why.

"I'm sure Pepper will be back with them soon." Rhodey assured him. "How's Ruby doing?"

Tony shrugged. "I don't know, it's hard to tell. She was crying this morning, but she denied it when I asked her."

"It's only to be expected. I mean, she's just lost her mother and gone in search of a father she has never met before. It can't be easy for her, it can't be easy for anyone." He said, knowing that his best friend was worrying.

Tony knew he was right. Ruby had no family left now, no one to be there for her when she needed it. Except now she had him, and he was determined to do the best he could for her.

* * *

**A/N: Well, I hope you liked it. It gets more interesting soon, I promise. I've already started writing up the first movie and have all my notes on things for the second. **

**I'm going away tomorrow, but I will still have my laptop with me so will still be able to update. I'm just not so sure on when it will be. **

**So, keep the reviews coming, they are awesome and so are you!**

**Pippa.**


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait, been a mad week here in the Netherlands. Off camping with the school for the weekend tomorrow, so will have no chance of getting online then, that's why the update is now. Anyway, enjoy. **

* * *

Tony had decided it was time to check on Ruby. He could have just asked JARVIS, but he wanted to see her himself. He found her sitting in the passenger's side of the car, her music blasting out of the stereo. She hadn't even noticed him walk over to the car.

He tapped on the window, and the music instantly stopped. "Pepper's on her way back. She has the results." He told her, a nervous expression on his face. Ruby just nodded at him before stepping out of the car.

They walked up into the living room area in utter silence. Rhodey had left, and Tony had orders to call him and let him know exactly what was going on the moment he knew. Rhodey knew he wouldn't actually call him, he'd probably have to hear it from Pepper instead.

"You want a drink?" Tony asked her, heading over to get himself a drink.

"Um, hello? 17, not legal." She replied, smirking at him a little.

"Not legal for you to go out drinking, while you're here I think it's okay. Come on, I'm sure you could use one." He said, waving a bottle of scotch in the air.

"Will you shut up if I say yes?" Ruby asked him.

Tony just smiled at her and walked over to the couch with a glass of amber liquid for her. She didn't even bother to ask him what it was before she took a sip. He had been expecting her to pull a face, scotch was not everyone's kind of drink, but she didn't. "I take it you've had scotch before?"

She nodded at him. "My mother hated it. I always used to have a bottle hidden in the closet. She didn't like me drinking, unless it was a special occasion."

"Yeah, she didn't like it when I started drinking either." He told her sadly. All the memories had come flooding back to him, and he couldn't shake them.

"I know, she told me." Ruby said, shocking him a little. "She used to talk about my father, but would never give me a name or anything that might lead me to who he was. I never really questioned it. She explained to me why she had left, why she hadn't told him about me."

Tony was still in shock. "She… she talked about me?"

"She talked about my father all the time. We're still waiting for the clarification that it is in fact you." Ruby reminded him. "But yeah, she was always going on about him, how he had been such a great and wonderful man, but began to change when his life was turned upside down."

Tony let out a sigh. "I wish I had paid more attention back then. I wish I had been able to see what I was doing to her, then maybe she wouldn't have left and she'd still be here now."

"There's nothing either of us can do that will change what has happened or bring her back." Ruby said, lifting the glass to her lips again. "We just have to remember her."

He nodded, and took another sip of his own drink.

"Sir, Miss Potts has just arrived." JARVIS announced, just as the strawberry blonde haired woman walked into the room.

The expression she wore was hard to read. "Hey, how you both doing?" She asked, before noticing the glass in Ruby's hand. "Tony, what are you doing giving her alcohol?" Pepper said scornfully.

"Relax, Pepper. I think she deserves it. It's not like she hasn't touch alcohol before." Tony told her, putting his glass down on the table and standing up. "You got them?" She nodded at him and held out an envelop for him to take. "The moment of truth." He said, taking it from her. His heart was pounding in his chest so much and his hands were shaking. He couldn't remember ever being so nervous in all his life.

Ruby kept her gaze firmly on the glass in her hand, while Pepper watched Tony as he opened the while envelope. He pulled out a piece of paper, his eyes scanning over it a few times. "Looks like we have a trip to the court house tomorrow morning." Tony whispered.

"Well?" Pepper asked, having not heard what he said. "What does it say?"

"It says that Ruby is grounded until she is 21." He told her, letting a smile tug at the corner of his lips.

"What does that mean?" Pepper asked, still not understanding what was going on.

Ruby let out a sigh. "It means that Tony Stark is in fact my father." She put her glass down on the table. "Will you excuse me for a minute." Before anyone had the chance to say anything she was out of the room and locking the door to the guest room she was occupying.

The blood was pounding in her ears, and her hands were shaking as she picked up her earpiece and put it in. "SWAIN, call Liam, now." She demanded.

_"Ruby, what's up?"_ Liam's voice called a few moments later.

"It is him. I've found my father." She whispered. She didn't know whether to be happy, relieved or completely freaked out.

_"That's good right?" _There was silence. _"Rube, tell me that's good?"_ There was worry in his voice, and he only ever called her Rube when he was worried.

"You don't know who it is yet." She told him, trying to keep herself together. "You know that huge company, Stark Industries?"

_"Yeah, that one owned by the biggest playboy in the world? Who doesn't know about that company?"_

"Well, turns out, the biggest playboy in the world is my father." This time Ruby was met with silence. "Liam, you can't tell anyone about this. If the media ever found out…"

_"Wow, that's… that's…"_

"Disturbing?" She suggested, earning a chuckle from Liam.

_"I was going to say crazy, but yours fits better I guess." _He told her. _"And don't worry. I won't say a word, not even to Val. I'll just tell her you've found him."_

"Thanks."

_"So, what are you going to do now then? Are you going to stay there with him or come back to Denver?"_ Liam asked her.

"Um, I think I'm grounded until I'm 21." Ruby told him. The truth was, she was still unsure of what she wanted to do.

_"What did you do this time?"_ He asked her, letting out a sigh.

"Nothing, yet. But the night is young. I just wanted to tell you, I promised I would."

Liam could tell from her voice that she was completely torn with everything and needed time to get her head around it all. _"You know where I am if you need me. I can always come over that way if you want. You just have to let me know, okay?"_

"I know, thank you. I'll talk to you again soon, I promise." She told him, thankful that he wasn't asking too many questions.

_"You better. And don't worry, I'm not going to go and shoot my mouth off to anyone. I think SWAIN would find a way to kill me if I did."_

Ruby couldn't help but laugh at that. "Yeah, he probably would."

_"Take care of yourself, Rube. Try not to get into too much trouble."_

"I'll try. Bye, Liam." She said, before ending the call. She wondered if she should call Tasha and tell her as well. No, there was no point, Ruby would only want to have a moan at her for putting the tracker in her car.

"Well, SWAIN, looks like it really is mission completed." She said, throwing herself back on the bed.

"You do not seem too happy about this, Miss Matthews." He replied, noticing the difference in her voice pattern.

She let out a sigh. "Think logically, SWAIN. My mother is dead, and now I have found out who my real father is. Not exactly a normal week in anyone's books, is it?" She asked him.

"No, Miss Matthews. But I thought you would be pleased to know who your father was."

"I am, really I am pleased. But now what do I do?" She asked him. "I don't know him and he doesn't know me. We're not going to just suddenly be a happy family, are we? I've spent 17 years not knowing who my father was, he spent 17 years not even knowing he had a daughter. It's a shock for both of us."

There came a soft knocking at the door. "Hey, Ruby?" Pepper called. "Are you okay?"

She got herself off the bed and pulled the door open. "Hey, I'm fine, Pepper."

"I know this is hard…"

"Understatement of the year." Ruby muttered.

Pepper just let out a chuckle. "That is exactly what Tony said. I just wanted to make sure you were all right. You rushed out of there pretty quickly." There was an expression of concern on her face.

"Really, I'm fine. I just need to get my head around all this." Ruby assured her.

"Okay, well if you want someone to talk to, you can always talk to me, Ruby. I know we don't really know each other, but I'm still here if you want." The woman told her. Ruby could tell from her face that she was being sincere.

"Thanks. How's…" She couldn't call him dad. "Tony coping?"

"Well, he's currently trying to get through to someone so that he can have legal custody of you." Pepper told her, a smile on her face. "I've never actually seen him this happy before."

"He's… trying to get legal custody now?" Ruby asked her in shock. She had never expected him to want to get things done as quickly as he was. Pepper just nodded at her. "He's insane. Actually no, I think he just wants the legal power to ground me."

"I'd say it was a little bit of both. He told me what you done to JARVIS." She said, still smiling. "But seriously, Tony wants to get everything done."

Ruby let out a sigh as she remembered what he had said the night before about her name. "I don't want to be Ruby Stark." She announced, taking Pepper by shock. "I want to be Ruby Matthews Stark. If he insists I take his name, it comes after my mother's name. They were never married, and I'm the only Matthews left."

"Tony thought you would say that. He isn't going to take away your name, he wanted to talk to you about that first. He was actually going to suggest Matthews Stark."

"I, uh, guess I better go and talk to him about it then." It was clear that she was nervous, and she hated getting nervous. All her life she had faced her problems head on, not caring about the trouble she got into, not being nervous about anything. But since her mother had passed, she had been nothing but nervous.

"Everything will be fine, Ruby. It's going to take time, but it will get easier." Pepper assured her, as they walked into the living area where Tony was on his phone to someone.

"I'll call you tomorrow, Rhodey." Tony said as he noticed the two women standing there watching him. He quickly put his phone back in his pocket and smiled at Ruby. "So, you're grounded until you're 21. I just want to make that perfectly clear right now."

"And I give it 3 day's before I drive you so insane you have to unground me." Ruby warned him.

"We'll see about that. We're going down to the courthouse tomorrow to get everything done. But before we go, do you want to change your name?" Ruby could see that his eyes were pleading her to say yes.

"Matthews Stark. And if you don't like that, then you can shove it." She told him, folding her arms across her chest.

The smile didn't fade from his face. "Fine with me. Ruby Matthews Stark, I like it, don't you Miss Potts?" He looked over at Pepper, who was also smiling.

"Right, Rachel Peters needs to check out of her hotel now." Ruby told him, earning a strange look from the adults in the room. "I need to get my things from the hotel I'm staying at." She said, rolling her eyes at them.

"I'll get Happy to do that." Pepper said, pulling out her phone and walking towards the kitchen area.

"So, how long am I going to be stuck living here for? I still have a house in Denver with most of my stuff in." Ruby asked him.

"We can get that all packed up and whatever you don't need can be put into storage." Tony told her. The smile just wouldn't fade from his face now.

"And what about SWAIN? He's kind of built into the house."

He hadn't actually thought about that. "We'll work something out. Can't let you be without your SWAIN now, can we?"

"I was thinking of renting the house out to Liam and Val. I trust him enough to look after it, and I can keep SWAIN there but just… extend him a little more." Ruby suggested.

Tony just kept on smiling. "I think that can be arranged."

"Great. I'll let him know tomorrow."

"There's… something else we need to talk about." His smile finally faded and was replaced with a very serious look.

"The press. I know. It's up to you how you deal with it all. Not going to make a difference to me if I'm grounded until I'm 21. My 21st birthday is when they are finally going to catch my wild side." There was a glint in her eyes as she told him that.

"It's not up to me, it's up to us. When they find out, they are going to be coming up with all kinds of stories. Some of them aren't going to be nice." Tony warned her. He had dealt with his fair share of bad publicity, and false stories, but he could handle it and would just ignore it. Ruby hadn't lived a life in the limelight, the press was new to her.

She shrugged at him. "I think I can handle it. I may not be used to the press, but I do know how they work. They don't care if what they write is completely rubbish and full of lies, they're getting a story out and selling papers."

"Well, we'll see how the next few days go. Wait until you've settled in." He told her, actually rather surprised by her attitude. "You need to go and pick a bedroom."

A frown formed on her face. "What's wrong with the one I'm in now?" She asked, folding her arms across her chest.

"Nothing, I just… I didn't know if you'd want to stay in that room or pick one for yourself." He admitted.

"I'm happy to stay in that room. The view isn't too bad, and it's still bigger than my room back in Denver." She told him. Ruby actually liked waking up in the mornings and seeing the ocean right outside, she found it somewhat calming.

"Okay, well if that's what you went then that's fine. You can decorate it how you like as well." Tony said as he walked over to get himself another drink. "It's your room."

"Oh goodie, I get to put up all my posters of half naked men." Ruby called, jumping up and down on the spot and acting like a child.

Tony just looked at her with wide eyes. "Oh really?" Clearly he was no impressed.

She stopped and rolled her eyes at him. "No. I'm not 12. All I'm going to want is my set up from home for SWAIN. The walls are safe."

He was actually a little relieved. He didn't think he could cope with her having posters like that in her room. "It's getting late. You should probably head to bed." He told her, not really knowing what else to say.

"It's not late, it's not even midnight yet." Ruby reminded him, not overly happy that he was telling her to go to bed. She had never had a bedtime, and she was not going to let him start bossing her around.

Tony just let out a sigh. "Ruby, it's been a long day, and tomorrow is going to be another. You've hardly slept recently as it is, you're making yourself ill."

"You can't force me to go to sleep. You can send me to my room, but that is it." She was determined to stand her ground on this.

He let out a groan of frustration, life with Ruby was definitely going to be a lot more difficult than he anticipated. "Okay, fine. So what do you want to do then?" He asked her, knowing he had to relent.

"I actually have a few people I need to contact, before they hear everything from the press." Ruby told him. "Otherwise I could get into a lot of trouble, and I'm trying to avoid trouble for a few more days."

"Only a few?" Tony asked her. He was more than just curious as to what her history was now, because it seemed to him that his daughter had many secrets.

"I promise, the moment everything has calmed down, I'll be right back to it." She assured him, a grin on her face. "Since you've already decided to ground me until I'm 21, I may as well make the most of the time I have."

"You'd seriously do that?"

Ruby's grin just grew bigger. "I'd seriously do that. Now, I need to go make a few calls. Oh, this is going to be anything but fun." She mumbled.

"And I take it after you have done that, you're going to sleep?" Tony asked her hopefully. He couldn't help but worry about her. He knew she hadn't been looking after herself since before her mother even passed away, and he didn't want her to keep being like that.

Ruby shrugged her shoulders at him. "I might. Depends on how long these calls take."

"Right, well, good night, Ruby." He said, feeling a little awkward. He didn't know whether he should hug her or what, so he just shifted from one foot to the other.

"Yeah, night." Ruby replied, feeling just as awkward, before heading off to her room.

She closed the door and locked it behind her. "Okay, SWAIN, time to make sure the past is securely locked away." She called to her AI.

"Of course, Miss Matthews. Who would you like me to contact first?" SWAIN said in her ear.

She couldn't help but smile. "You're going to hack, because I want to talk to the organ grinder, not the monkey. I'm not happy with him, at all."

"Are you sure that is wise?"

Ruby just rolled her eyes. "Yes, he's brought this on himself. He should know that I would do something like this, so get on with it."

She waited a few moments before a deep voice called through her earpiece. _"Who is this?"_ The voice asked.

Ruby couldn't help but snort a little. "Who do you think it is?"

_"Ruby Matthews. Back to your old tricks, I see?" _The man asked her.

"Well, I may have decided to derail a little. My mother has just died, some jackasses have been trying to track me, oh and I've found out who my father is." She told him, sounding a little bored. "I decided it was time to be the troublemaker you guys think I am."

She heard the man sigh at the other end of the line. _"No one ever called you a troublemaker, just that you know how to cause trouble."_

"Also known as a troublemaker. Look, you can't deny it, so don't even bother to try. I can get SWAIN to take down your systems in less than 10 seconds, and you know it." No matter how hard she was trying, she was starting to lose her cool with the man.

_"I take it there was a reason for this call if yours?"_ He asked her, knowing that she hadn't called just to give him hell.

Ruby took a deep breath. "You know who my father is, don't even try to deny it. I know that she told you, she told you years ago." Her mother had admitted to it after she had managed to get herself into a spot of trouble, and someone else had to come in and clean up her mess.

_"What do you need me to do?"_

"I need you to make sure that the press are never, ever going to get hold of anything. Ever." Ruby told him seriously.

_"That will not be a problem. Your father may be Tony Stark, but I have a lot more power over things than he does. Consider it done."_ The man replied.

There was a small smile on her face now. "Thanks, I really do appreciate it. Expect to see me all over the place in the next few days."

_"Stay out of trouble, Miss Matthews. I don't want to have to be sending someone out because you thought it would be fun to do something illegal."_ He warned her.

She couldn't hep but laugh a little. "Like I said, you all just think I'm trouble. And besides, it's Ruby Matthews-Stark, well it will be as of tomorrow."

The man on the other end chuckled a little. _"Already taking his name are you?"_ He asked her.

"Already grounded until I'm 21." Ruby mumbled.

_"I think that's probably safer for everyone. I'll have everything tidied up and make sure no one will ever find out."_ He assured her, referring back to the main reason for the call in the first place. _"And next time, just a simple call will be enough. Stop hacking our system." _

"Aye aye, captain. Catch you later." Ruby called, before ending the communication.

"Well done, Miss Matthews. You managed to control your anger." SWAIN called to her.

"Oh, shut up. Call Tasha."

_"I'm working, Rubes."_ A female voice called to her.

"Yup, you're always working, Tasha. Anywhere nice this time?" Ruby asked, lying back on her bed and making herself comfy.

_"Not really. Hang on a second." _Ruby waited, listening to the commotion that was happening wherever Tasha was. _"Okay, I've got a few spare minutes now. What's happened?" _

Ruby let out a sigh. "Yeah, I've found my father. Oh, and I was not impressed with someone putting a tracker in Maggie-May." She hadn't forgotten about that.

_"I was under orders, Rubes."_

"Fine, whatever. I disabled it before I went anywhere, so you guys wouldn't have found me either." She told her.

_"So, what else? You didn't just call me to say that, so what else is there?" _Tasha asked her.

"I want to know if you knew." Ruby asked her. "I know certain other people knew, were you one of them? I just want the truth."

For a moment there was silence. _"Yes. That was why I was assigned to you, Rubes. And I'm glad that I was. We needed to keep the heat away from you, keep you out of the spotlight. That was all your mother ever wanted for you. But you were so determined to draw attention to yourself that someone had to step in."_

"I can understand that, Tasha. I always knew that my mother wasn't the only person who knew who my father was. And… I'm grateful for everything you've done for me over the years. If it wasn't for you, I really would be in a hell of a lot of trouble." Ruby told her.

_"As long as you're not mad at me."_ Tasha asked her.

"No, course not. Well, I better let you get back to work now. Have fun, wherever you are."

_"When I get back, we'll catch up. Go for a coffee or something?" _The woman suggested.

Ruby smirked. "Sure, I'm confident I'll find away around this 'ground till I'm 21' thing." The pair said goodbye, and she let out a content sigh. "Okay, I think I'm done for the night." She called, ready to curl up in bed now. "Night, SWAIN."

"Goodnight, Miss Matthews."

She chuckled a little. "Last time you're going to be saying that to me. Tomorrow it's going to be Miss Matthews-Stark."

"You will always be Miss Matthews to me." SWAIN replied to her. Ruby just chuckled some more before getting changed and making herself comfortable under the covers. A week ago she had no parents, no family left at all, but now she had a father. She knew that the next few weeks were going to be rather hectic for her, and she would have to try her hardest to stay out of trouble.

* * *

**A/N: So, what are you guys thinking so far? I have to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed, you guys really are totally awesome. A big thank you to those who have followed/favourited the story as well. **

**Yes I have the next chapter written. Yes the story is going to lead into the first movie, then the second, as well as Avengers. So I will do the third as well when the time comes. **

**Now, remember to review and let me know what you think. Sorry if there is any spelling and grammar errors, I shall admit that my proof reading has been slight terrible as of late. **

**Pippa. **


	8. Chapter 7

Tony was, as always, down in his workshop tinkering with one of his cars when Pepper arrived the next morning. "Tony, what are you still doing here?" She asked him. "Shouldn't you be at the courthouse by now?"

He stopped what he was doing and stood up to face her. "I've told them we're running late. Ruby is still asleep."

"Do you want me to go and wake her?" Pepper asked, wondering why he hadn't done that himself already. He was desperate to get everything sorted, so why was he waiting around?

"No." He told her sharply. "She hasn't been sleeping enough as it is. Just let her sleep, Pepper."

The woman just smiled and nodded at him. She could already see a slight change in his behaviour, and it was a good change. "Happy has dropped her things off. There wasn't much there to collect. And there is also a very large supply of jellybeans in the kitchen as well."

"Great, those are for Ruby." Tony told her, wiping his hands on an oily rag.

Pepper just frowned at him. "You brought her jellybeans?" The confusion was clear in her voice.

"Sugar." He told her, walking over to his desk.

"Sorry?"

"She needs the sugar. She hasn't been eating properly and she hates having sugar in her drinks." Tony said, typing away at his high tech keyboard. "Ruby prefers jellybeans."

"So, how are you feeling about all of this?" Pepper asked him nervously.

He let out a sigh before spinning his chair to face her. "I've missed 17 years of her life, I have no idea what she likes and what she doesn't. I don't even know if she has any allergies."

"Sir, I may be able to collect that information from SWAIN." JARVIS called, butting into the conversation.

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Sure, ask him." Tony replied. "I'm having my AI communication with my daughter's AI." He sighed.

"You know, you could just ask her yourself." Pepper suggested.

"I will. But I'd like to know before I feed her something that could kill her."

"Sir, it would appear that Miss Matthews is allergic to pears as well as a few different medicines. SWAIN has compiled a list for you." JARVIS told him, bringing the list up on the screen for Tony to see.

While Tony was browsing through the list, Ruby had finally decided to wake up. She rubbed her eyes with the back of one hand as she reached out for her earpiece with the other. "Morning, SWAIN." She called, starting to stretch out her arms.

"Good morning, Miss Matthews. Today is another big day for you." He replied to her as she rolled onto her side and looked out of the wall that was pure glass.

"Yeah, I guess it is. Not quite sure how I feel about it all yet, I think I'm just still trying to make sense of it all." She told him, enjoying the sunshine coming through the windows.

"Your bags have been left outside of the room for you, and I should also inform you that Mr Stark has requested a list of your allergies."

"That's only fair I suppose." She mumbled, finally dragging herself out of the bed and over to the door. "I take it you have already given it to him?"

"I have, Miss Matthews." SWAIN told her.

Ruby didn't really mind. She thought it was sensible that he had actually bothered to ask, she didn't think Tony Stark was capable of being sensible. "As long as he doesn't try to poison me with the information, that's fine." She said, grabbing her suitcases and pulling them over to the bed.

She heaved one of the dark purple cases onto the bed, before unzipping it. "Jeans and Converses." She mumbled, rummaging through everything. "Where they hell are they?"

"You may wish to try the other suitcase, Miss Matthews." SWAIN finally said, seeing that she was getting a little frustrated.

Ruby let out a sigh. "And you couldn't have told me this sooner?" She asked, looking at the pile of clothing now smothered all over the bed. "All I want is my jeans and Converses." She mumbled, opening the next suitcase and pulling everything out of that one as well.

"Ah! Perfect." She cried, finding a pair of navy Converses and her black jeans. She grabbed the first top she laid her hands on and bounded happily into the bathroom. She quickly showered and dressed, loosely tying her wet hair back.

"What the hell happened in here?" Tony's voice reached her ears just as she opened the bathroom door.

"Um, suitcases spontaneously exploded?" She told him, shrugging her shoulders and walking into the room.

Tony just shook his head. "JARVIS told me you were up and getting ready. Thought I'd come and…"

"Oh, well that was rude of me. Good morning, JARVIS." Ruby called, cutting Tony off midsentence. "I'm only used to talking to SWAIN in the morning."

"Of course, good morning, Miss Matthews." JARVIS replied to her.

"Don't I get a 'good morning' as well?" Tony asked her, frowning a little. He really didn't like it when people interrupted him, usually it was him doing it to other people.

"Oh, yeah, morning." She said, starting to shove things back into the empty suitcases.

"Why don't you just put everything in the wardrobe rather than shove it all back in a suitcase?" He asked, wondering why she was doing that.

Ruby stopped and looked at him as she tossed a few more things in. "Because I'm lazy? Anyway, you wanted something?"

"We're ready to leave when you are. Pepper has already been asking me why we haven't left yet. I told her you needed to sleep a little longer." He said, before pulling something out of his pocket. "Oh, and these are for you."

Ruby caught the bag as he tossed it to her. "Awesome, jellybeans. Thanks." She said, before chucking a few in her mouth. "Well, I'm ready now, so let's go."

A silver Audi R8 pulled into the garage of Tony Stark's Malibu mansion. "Welcome home, sir, Miss Matthews-Stark." JARVIS called as the engine turned off.

"Hey, JARVIS." Ruby called, a grin on her face. He was the third one that actually matters to her to call her by that now. SWAIN had been the second, and Tony had called her by her new name straight away.

There was a grin on Tony's face as well as he walked over to his desk, where the screens suddenly appeared before him. "Anything interesting happen while we were gone?" He asked, looking through some things on the screen.

"Mr Stane called, sir. He was enquiring as to why you have not been at the office." JARVIS informed him.

"Hey, Ruby? How do you feel about going out for dinner tonight? There's someone I need you to meet." He called over to her.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, I'm guessing it's going to be somewhere really expensive and posh?"

Tony spun in his chair to face her, finding her leaning against Maggie-May. "Only the best. JARVIS, set it up and call Obie."

"Oi, SWAIN? Anything in those suitcases suitable for going out to dinner?" Ruby asked him.

"There are 3 dresses which would be suitable for you, Miss Matthews." He replied. After calling her Miss Matthews-Stark once, he reverted back to just calling her Miss Matthews.

"Awesome. I suppose it's time I went and sorted everything out then." She said, pushing herself away from her car. "Might as well unpack and put everything away while I'm at it."

Tony just smiled at her. "Have fun. I'll get JARVIS to let you know when to start getting ready."

Ruby nodded at him before heading out of the workshop, which was also the garage, and up to her room. He couldn't help but smile to himself now. Ruby hadn't put up a fight when they were at the courthouse, she just let him get on with everything and answered when she was spoken to.

_"Tony! I was wondering when I was going to hear from you. Where have you been?"_ A male voiced called to him.

"Hey, Obie. I've got a little surprise for you, how about we go out for dinner?" Tony asked, trying not to just run his mouth and tell him straight away.

_"What are you up to, Tony?"_ Obie asked him.

The grin wouldn't fade from his face. "Who say's I'm up to anything? So, dinner?"

He heard the man sigh at the other end. _"Okay, Tony. I'll meet you for dinner. And this better be good."_

"Oh, it will be." He said, before ending the call. He couldn't wait to show off his daughter to Obadiah Stane, his partner at Stark Industries and one of his most trusted friends. He knew he had to tell him before the press got hold of the news, and he was rather looking forward to that as well. He hadn't quite decided how to tell the press yet, but he was going to make it spectacular.

While Tony was sitting there, grinning like the cat who got the cream, Ruby was sorting through her suitcases and putting everything away.

"I really should have brought more clothes with me." She moaned, hanging up a few of her dresses. "Everything I have is just… boring."

"You were in a rush when you packed, Miss Matthews. I believe your were randomly throwing things into the suitcases." SWAIN called in her ear.

She walked back over to the cases and froze when she saw what was left sitting in there. "I guess it wasn't all random things." She muttered, pulling out s little silver box. "I remembered this."

Ruby sat on the edge of the bed, the silver box held tightly in her hands. Her mother had given it to her on her 12th birthday, with a silver charm bracelet inside of it. She pulled the lid up and looked inside of it, letting out a sigh when she realised just what she had in there.

"Is everything alright, Miss Matthews-Stark?" JARVIS called to her.

"Uh, yeah. Um… everything's fine, JARVIS." She replied, her voice a little shaky. "Just… memories." She told him, getting up from the bed and placing the box down carefully on the dresser. "JARVIS?"

"Yes, Miss Matthews-Stark?" He called back to her.

"Has Tony said anything about going to pick up the rest of my things from Denver yet?" She asked him nervously. "There are things there that I kind of need and… well I need to do something about SWAIN as well."

"Not yet he hasn't, Miss Matthews-Stark. I suggest you ask him."

Ruby let out a sigh. "Yeah, I guess I should. Thanks anyway, JARVIS." That was when she realised that she had yet to call Liam and let him know what was going on. "SWAIN, can you call Liam, please."

"Calling Mr Roberts." He replied, before she heard the ringing of the call in her ear.

_"Hey, Ruby." _His voice floated into her ear. _"You been causing much trouble today?"_

Of course, he would have to think she was causing trouble as well, just like everyone else did. "No, actually. We went to the courthouse this morning, I am now officially Ruby Matthews-Stark." She told him rather proudly.

_"No way, you took his name already?" _It was clear that Liam was a little shocked at that little piece of information.

Ruby shrugged to herself. "Well, why not? He's the only family I have left now, I'm the only real family he has as well. He wanted me to be a Stark, and I wanted to still be a Matthews, so we compromised."

She heard him chuckling a little on the other end of the line. _"You told him that if he didn't like it he could stick it, didn't you?"_ Liam knew her all too well, and even without being around her he knew what she would do.

"Yeah, I did. But anyway, on to important matters…the house." Her tone suddenly turned serious.

_"Everything has been fine there. SWAIN gave me the address to forward your mail and all of that. I've been keeping it dust free as well."_ He told her.

"That's fine, but there's something else. I don't want to sell the house, but it's pointless it sitting there doing nothing. Plus, what with having SWAIN there as well, it just adds to the complications." Ruby told him. "I know you and Val are struggling, I've seen your apartment, which is more like a closet. That's why I want you guys to actually live in the house."

_"But Ruby, we can't… I mean… it's your house… and…"_ Liam stuttered.

"Exactly, it's my house. I can do with it what I please. If it makes you feel any better, I'll demand the same amount of rent you're paying now." There was a slight grin on her face. Ruby knew that Liam would take good care of the house for her. "Look, it's the perfect solution. I need someone to watch the house, you and Val need a decent place to live. I trust you, Liam, so just accept it and move in."

He let out a sigh, knowing that he was not going to get out of it. If Ruby wanted him and his fiancé to live in the house, there was no way he could say no. _"Yes ma'am. Val will be excited, you know how much she loves that house." _

"I know. Call it an early wedding gift or something. I'll be there at some point to start packing some things up." She told him, glad that he had accepted. "At least now I don't have to put everything in storage."

_"So, now that the important stuff is all out of the way, how are things going there?"_ Liam asked cautiously. He didn't want to admit it, but he was worried about her. He had known her for so long, they had grown up together, even if he was a fair bit older than her. He had acted like an older brother most of the time, getting protective of her and always helping her out. His life was a lot quieter now that she was in Malibu.

"It's… different. He lives in a great big mansion that's pretty much hanging over the edge of a cliff." She told him, lying back down on her bed, just knowing that the conversation was going to last a little longer. "I mean, it's nice seeing the ocean outside of my window every morning but…"

_"Rube, that is not what I meant and you know it._" Liam called, interrupting her.

She let out a sigh. "I don't know. We haven't really talked too much, we still know hardly anything about each other. You can't make up 17 years worth in just a few days."

_"No, but you have to make an effort, Rube. Don't you go thinking that he has to do all the work, that it has to be him to start a conversation. Just talk with him, find some common ground and build from that." _Liam told her. Ruby hated to admit it, but he really was right. She did need to make an effort and find some common ground with the man who was her father, otherwise things would never get any better for either of them.

"Sir, yes sir." She called down the earpiece to him.

_"I'm serious, Rube. And don't you dare let him drag you into his playboy lifestyle."_ He warned.

She couldn't help but snort a little. "Oh please, like that will ever happen. I mean, Tasha would be on my ass so damn quick if that were to happen. She'd probably take me prisoner and knock some sense into me."

That just made Liam laugh at her. _"That is very true."_

"Sorry to disturb you, Miss Matthews-Stark, but Mr Stark has asked me to inform you that the table is booked for eight. I suggest you start getting ready now, Miss." JARVIS called to her.

_"Who the hell was that? Did you change SWAIN's voice or something?"_ Liam asked her.

"No, that was JARVIS, he's… uh… Tony's AI. We're going out for dinner, he want's me to meet someone, probably before they find out from the press who I am." She told him.

_"Wow, two AI's in one house. That has to be confusing." _

"Not really. SWAIN is only in my earpiece, JARVIS is everywhere." Ruby informed her friend. "But SWAIN and JARVIS can communicate by themselves now. Anyway, I probably should start getting ready now. I get to dress up, yay." She called, unenthusiastically.

Liam chuckled. _"You're going out to play pretty princess?"_ He asked her.

"Please, you know I'd much rather go out in jeans and Converses. It's you and SWAIN that make me wear those awful things called dresses." Ruby scoffed. She never had been much of a person for wearing dresses. She always managed to get them filthy from whatever she was tinkering with.

_"And now you get to go out and be daddy's little princess."_

"Watch it." Ruby warned. "I can have SWAIN make your life very unpleasant, remember."

_"Yeah, you keep telling me that, but I just think it's all talk. Make sure you call again soon, and try to enjoy yourself tonight."_

"I will, send Val my love. I'll let you guy's know when I'm coming to clear my things out." They said their goodbyes and Ruby got up from the bed and started rummaging though the wardrobe. "Okay SWAIN, what one?" She asked him, looking at the three dresses in front of her. One was a knee length turquoise dress, with thin straps over the shoulders and lace around the bodice. The second was slightly longer, but still not reaching the floor and in a pastel purple colour. It was rather plain, apart from the detailed silver stitching around the hem of the skirt. Finally she looked over at the floor length silver halter neck dress. It was given to her by her mother, and something that she had worn when she was younger.

"I would recommend the silver dress with the matching shoes, Miss Matthews." He told her after a few minutes. "It would go nicely with the silver charm bracelet and necklace you have with you."

"You just want me to look like my mother, don't you?" She asked, frowning a little.

"I am only making a suggestion, Miss Matthews, you do not have to follow my advice. However, you did ask for it."

She let out a small groan. "Yes, okay, fine. Silver dress and shoes with the necklace and charm bracelet, got it. Anything else?"

"I would also suggest you have your hair down for the evening, Miss Matthews."

She rolled her eyes as she grabbed the dress and shoes, before heading out of sight and into the bathroom. Ruby really did hate dressing up, she never usually had anything to dress up for but she had a feeling that her father was going to find plenty of opportunities to get her to play princess.

It was almost an hour later when she was finally ready, sitting on the bed and putting on the bracelet. "Miss Matthews-Stark, Mr Stark is waiting for you downstairs when you are ready." JARVIS called to her.

"Tell him I'll be there in a minute." She replied, standing up and looking at herself in the mirror. "Well, here goes nothing." She mumbled, before heading out of the room and down to the garage where her father was waiting for her.

The moment Tony laid eyes on her, his mouth fell open. She looked so much like her mother, standing there in a dress that he could have sworn he had seen before. "Wow." He finally managed to say. "You really do look like your mother right now."

"Uh, thanks. It probably helps that this is her dress." She said, tugging at it a little.

He tilted his head to the side a little. "I thought I recognised it. But I also recognise that." He told her, pointing to the diamond covered star pendant hanging on a silver chain around her neck.

Ruby just nodded. "You gave it to her one Christmas and she gave it to me on my sixteenth birthday."

"I didn't know she kept it." Tony said, smiling a little.

"She kept everything. Jewellery, clothes, silly little love letters. I think there is a whole box full of them back at the house." Tony was a little lost for words, he had never expected Jasmine to keep any of those things.

"Right, shall we go?" He said, stepping over to his Audi and expecting Ruby to follow him. Only she didn't.

"Actually, I was wondering if I could drive Maggie-May there myself." She asked him nervously. "It's just… Tony Stark arriving with a teenager, not really going to look that great at the moment is it?"

He hadn't thought about that. The world needed to wait just a little bit longer before finding out that there was another Stark. "Okay, JARVIS, send Ruby the directions to the restaurant. And Ruby, if you are more than 30 minutes behind me, you are in serious trouble."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Grounded till I'm 30 now?"

He couldn't help but smirk at her. "Possibly. A year for each minute you're late, I think that sounds fair."

"Yeah, I got it. 30 minutes behind you and no later. Maybe I will get there before you, then can I ground you for being late?"

His smirk turned into a frown. "If you get there before me, then I know you were speeding, and I'll double your grounding."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "You just want to keep grounding me, that's all it is. But in 2 day's time, you're going to be so fed up with me that you're going to have to unground me before I drive you insane." She reminded him, stepping over to her mother's car.

"Oh, we'll see about that, missy." He replied, opening the door to his car. "30 minutes and no later. JARVIS, make sure SWAIN keeps her safe and that she gets there in once piece."

"Of course, sir. Have a good evening sir, miss." JARVIS called back.

Ruby let out a groan as she got into her own Audi and started up the engine. Tony was quick to start up his own, the roof of the car down and his music already blaring out. "SWAIN, give me a bit of Iron Maiden. And make it loud." She asked as both the windows rolled down, allowing the music to flow into the garage.

Tony looked back, hearing her music trying to over power his own. His head turned sharply as the silver TT whizzed past him and out of the mansion. "Oh, it's on." He said, before speeding off after her.

That was how most of the drive went, the pair of them racing and trying to beat the other to their destination. Only Ruby was having none of it, she had done a lot more driving than her father knew, and she had the skills to prove it.

"Miss Matthews, Mr Stark would like to speak with you." SWAIN called to her, turning down the music slightly.

She let out a sigh. "Fine."

_"You're speeding." _Tony called to her through the earpiece.

"So are you." She countered, keeping her eyes firmly fixed on the road ahead of her.

_"Yes, but I'm not a 17 year old kid."_

"Please, just because I'm 17, that does not make me a kid. You just hate the fact that this old and beaten down TT is faster than your sweet little R8." Ruby scoffed.

_"That car is not faster than mine."_ Tony retorted, feeling a little annoyed that she was actually going at a higher speed than he was able to.

"You keep telling yourself that."

He let out a sigh, just knowing that she was going to be stubborn on the matter and speed even more if he kept pressing that his car was, in fact, better and faster. _"I thought the idea was to arrive separately?" _

"It is." Ruby told him, glancing at the GPS quickly. They were almost there now, and she was going to have to let the R8 past her. "That's why I'm going to stop off somewhere and have a drink." She said with a grin as she sharply turned the car right.

The R8 rushed past where she had just turned, carrying on its journey to the restaurant. _"Oh no, I don't think so."_ Tony warned her. _"You're underage, no one is going to serve you." _

Ruby couldn't help but chuckle a little. "That's what you think. I have my ways, we all do. See you in 30 minutes." She said, before ending the call and pulling the car over. She wasn't actually planning on going out drinking before catching up with him, she just wanted a little time on her own, in a familiar place.

When she was younger, her mother would always find her curled up in the car if she was worrying about something, or if she needed time to think. It was like her little sae haven, a place for her to retreat to.

Unknowingly, tears began to stream down her cheeks as thoughts of her mother entered her mind. Ruby missed her so much, and no matter how much she said she was okay, she really wasn't. She would give anything to see her again, to go out shopping with her or to just sit and watch a movie together. But that could never happen. Her mother was gone, and Ruby could only carry on as best she could and make her mother even more proud.

"Miss Matthews, you have 7 minutes to get to the restaurant before Mr Stark begins to count up your grounding." SWAIN called to her.

She quickly looked at her face in the mirror and wiped away the mess on her cheeks. She was glad she had opted for very little make up. "And how long will it take me to get to the restaurant?" She asked, turning the engine back on.

"Roughly 18 minutes." He replied.

She couldn't help but grin. "And I'll make it there in 6." She said, putting the car into gear and speeding off.

Meanwhile, Tony was already sitting in the restaurant with Obadiah Stane, sipping at his drink. "So come on, Tony, why have you brought me here?" Obadiah asked him, watching the man before him closely.

"Oh, there's someone I want you to meet. They should be here soon." He said, glancing at his watch. 3 more minutes and she would be late, and he was ready to ground her some more.

"This had better be good, Tony."

"Trust me, its going to be so much more than good. I assure you." He replied, trying to keep the smirk from his face. He couldn't want to see his reaction when he saw Ruby.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait, it's been a really hectic week and weekend. Camping with 43 children was pretty fun, but we had a few too many accidents, leading to hospital trips. **

**Anyway, thanks to everyone who has reviewed, and to those who have favourited/followed. You guys rock.**

**so keep leaving me reviews, so I can make this stroy so much better. **

**Pippa.**


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: I know it's been a while since the last update, but my 3 weeks in the Netherlands are over and I am now back home. I should have way more time to write now, so fingers crossed for more updates. **

* * *

Ruby was stood outside of the restaurant, tugging at her dress a little. She had made it in time, but she was nervous about heading inside. After taking a deep breath, she decided to bite the bullet and walked inside.

A woman approached her, a smile on her face. "Can I help you, miss?"

"Oh, uh yeah. I'm meeting someone, Tony Stark?" Ruby said nervously.

There was a smirk on the woman's face as she looked Ruby over. "Tony Stark? Really?"

She let out a sigh. "Yes, really. I know he is here, he arrived around 30 minutes ago. Now, I suggest you either show me where he is seated or I will just go and find him for myself. Your choice."

"Wait here." The woman said, rather rudely, before walking away from Ruby and through the restaurant. She headed straight for the table that Tony and Obadiah were seated at. Tony kept glancing at his watch, trying not to let a frown take over his face. "Excuse me, Mr Stark? There is a young woman who say's you are expecting her."

He just looked at her. "So why are you telling me this instead of showing her to the table?" He asked, making sure she understood that he was not happy.

Well…I…" She stuttered. "I didn't believe her. Sorry, Mr Stark." The woman told him, hanging her head a little in shame.

"It's clear that we are waiting for someone else, why else would there be a place set but an empty seat?" He asked her. "I suggest you hurry up and show her to the table, and apologise to her while you're at it."

She rushed back to where she had left Ruby standing, her cheeks flushing red. "Follow me."

Ruby rolled her eyes and done as she was told, keeping a few steps behind the woman as they walked. A few people turned around and looked at her as she pasted, making her wish that the ground would just open up and swallow her whole.

She let a smile creep across her face as she noticed Tony grinning at her. "You're late." He said, getting up from his chair.

"In my defence, I was held up while in the restaurant. Technically I was here on time, something else blocked my path." She replied, shooting the woman a glare.

Tony hadn't missed that and looked at the woman before turning his attention back to Ruby. "And did she apologise?" Ruby just shook her head, the woman had been nothing but rude to her since she stepped foot into the place. "Is that so?" He said, glaring at the woman standing there himself.

"Sorry for not escorting you to your table." The woman said, but clearly not meaning a word of it. Her tone was spiteful and full of dislike.

"You know, I don't think that was a proper apology." Tony said, clearly not happy with how his daughter was being treated.

"No, it's fine." Ruby said, really not wanting there to be any confrontations. "You can have her fired later. It's not exactly important is it? I'm here now so chill out." She knew her fathers reputation, and if he had carried on, he would have had the woman fired on the spot. Ruby had just saved her.

The woman looked like she was about to burst into tears as she dashed off and out of sight. Tony couldn't help but grin at the way Ruby had handled herself. "Ruby, this is Obadiah Stane, Obie, I want you to meet Ruby." Tony said, beaming away.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr Stane." Ruby said, shaking the man's hand.

"Please, call me Obadiah." The man replied, smiling at her a little.

"Right, let's eat now shall we?" Tony said, sitting himself back down, Ruby now sitting beside him.

Her eyes scanned over the menu. She knew that Tony was going to be watch what she ordered very closely, and if he didn't approve of what she was eating he would no doubt make her have something else.

"So, what you having then, Ruby?" Tony asked, putting his own menu down.

She shrugged at him. "Probably just a salad. As you may have noticed, I'm not a big eater." He could tell by the look in her eyes that she was ready to fight with him if he pushed her to order something different.

"Well that has to change. We've already talk about this, Ruby, you're going to make yourself ill." He told her, taking a sip of his scotch.

She let out a sigh. "Yeah, we've already talked about it, so there is no need to talk about it again." Ruby said as she reached out for the glass of iced water that was sitting before her.

A few minutes later, a man came over and took their order. As Ruby had told him, she just ordered a grilled chicken salad and nothing more.

Obadiah had just been sitting there watching the pair, having no idea what was going on with the two. "Okay, I give up. What's going on, Tony?" The bald man eventually asked as they waited for their food to arrive.

A smug grin took over his face as he glanced over at his daughter. "Tell me, Obie, does Ruby remind you of anyone?" He asked, leaning back in his chair and clasping his hands together as he rested his elbows on the table.

The older man looked at Ruby carefully, taking note of the disapproving look she was throwing at Tony. It was her eyes that really struck him. "Jasmine?"

Tony continued to smirk. "The one and only."

Obadiah turned from Tony and looked back at Ruby. "You're Jasmine's daughter?"

"Yes I am." She told him, still sending Tony a few glares. She had no idea what he was up to, but she was sure she didn't like it. "But my mother is no longer with us, she passed away a few weeks ago now. She had cancer."

"I'm sorry to hear about your mother." Obadiah said, a genuinely sad look on his face. "She was a good woman. She was the only one who could keep Tony under control."

She couldn't help but chuckle a little. "So I've heard."

"She showed up a few nights ago to break the news." Tony told him, wondering if his life long friend had worked it out yet. "She's been staying with me since."

"Not by choice." Ruby mumbled, but Tony still managed to hear her.

"You didn't put up that much of a fight."

She frowned at him. "Please, you had to get JARVIS to put the house in lock down so that I couldn't get out. I wanted to leave, but you didn't want me to go anywhere. I had a nice and comfy hotel room to go back to, but oh no, you just wouldn't let me leave."

Tony just raised an eyebrow at her. "And you still didn't leave. In fact, you could have gone anywhere you wanted tonight, but you still came here, even if you were late."

"I was not late." She told him firmly. "I was in the restaurant, I was just held up. You can't blame that on me." There was no way she was going to let him get away with grounding her some more for something that really wasn't her fault.

"Am I missing something here?" Obadiah asked, looking between the bickering pair.

Tony just looked at Ruby with a grin. "Do you want to tell him or do I get the honour?" He asked her.

She just shrugged at him. "Do whatever you like. But know that all the repercussions are on you."

He took that as a yes for him to go ahead and break the news to Obadiah. "Ruby isn't just Jasmine's daughter." Tony said, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. She had her phone in her hand now and she was typing away on it. "Ruby, put your phone away." She just looked up at him, sending him a deathly glare, before turning her attention back to her phone. "Ruby…" He said warningly.

"It's important." She said, showing him the speck of blood on her finger.

"Why didn't you just tell me?" He asked frowning at her.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Someone did, maybe you should check your phone and let me finish sending all this to JARVIS."

He pulled his own phone out of his jacket pocket, ignoring the completely confused look he was receiving from Obadiah. _'Miss Matthews-Stark is scheduled for a glucose test at 9pm. All data is being shared by SWAIN.'_ The message read. He checked the time on it, it was sent just after he had arrived at the restaurant.

"Anyway, weren't you about to tell Mr Stane something?" She asked, putting her phone away and sucking on her finger a little from where it had been bleeding.

He looked at her blankly. "What? Oh, yeah. Ruby's my daughter."

"Wow." Ruby said, leaning back in her chair. "That was really unimpressive. I thought you wanted to bring out the fireworks and make a big spectacle of it all."

"You're daughter?" Obadiah said, staring at Tony in shock. The man just smirked and nodded back at him. "And you're sure about this? Have you…"

"Yes, Obie. We've done the DNA. Ruby is a Stark, she's already proved that. I just wanted you to know before we went ahead and told the rest of the world." He said, beaming away. Tony had to admit, it felt good telling someone that he had a daughter, and that said daughter was Ruby.

"Tony, are you sure that is such a good idea?" The man asked him, seemingly a little worried. "Have you really thought all this through?"

"I know what I'm doing, Obie." Tony said. "We both do. We just have to wait for the right time."

Obadiah leaned back in his chair and looked at Tony and Ruby. He could definitely see the similarities to Jasmine in the young woman, and there were slight things that made him think of Tony. He was just having a hard time believe that it was all happening, that there was another Stark out there.

"So, tell me about yourself, Ruby?" Obadiah asked her, watching her with great interest.

"Uh, well… I'm 17 and already graduated a few years ago now. I'm not too bad with mechanics, I spend a lot of time taking things apart and then putting them back together again." She told him, wondering exactly how much she should be telling him. "Caused a bit of trouble when I was younger, but I'm over that now."

"She's going to be coming to the office with me." Tony announced. "There's a few things she is interested in, and we may as well put that genius brain of hers to work."

"Finally met your match, have you, Tony?" The bald man asked, just as the waiter arrived with their food.

"Oh yeah. Ruby has already given me a run for my money." Tony told him, smiling at his daughter.

"Yup, and I haven't even got started yet." She told him, picking up her cutlery and tucking into her salad. She knew he was going to be watching her, making sure that she did actually eat, but she didn't mind. He was only trying to look out for her, and that was okay.

The rest of the meal was pleasant enough. Obadiah began filling Tony in on the things he had been missing at the office. Apparently there had been a meeting with a rather important client that he had managed to miss. But Tony really wasn't that worried, he knew his life long friend could take care of matters for him, he wasn't going to let the company fall to rack and ruin.

"Ruby, you should probably head home." Tony told her, watching as she struggled to keep her eyes open.

She let out a sigh and rubbed her temples a little. "Yeah, I probably should. I could definitely do with some more sleep."

"You want me to drive? I can have Happy come and collect Maggie-May." Her father offered, worrying about her driving when she was so tired.

"No, it's fine. I'm sure I can manage. The fresh air will wake me up a little." She told him. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr Stane." She said, holding her hand out as she stood up.

"Please, call me Obadiah. And it was a pleasure to meet you as well. I look forward to seeing you at Stark Industries." The man replied, smiling at her as he shook her hand.

"Make sure you let me know when you're home safe. And take it easy, no speeding." Tony warned, making sure she understood that he wasn't kidding with her.

"Yeah, I'll get JARVIS to let you know when I get there. Stop your worrying, old man. I'll see you later." She said to him, turning away from the table and ready to walk away.

"Hey, don't I at least get a hug?" Tony called, making her stop and turn to face him. Ruby rolled her eyes at him before walking back over and giving the man who was her father a quick hug. "Drive safe, Ruby." He whispered to her, before letting her go.

She just smiled at him and headed out of the restaurant, glad to finally be out of there. Although she had enjoyed the evening, she really just wanted to get home and sleep. Being out in public with Tony Stark was a difficult thing to handle, but she knew it would just get harder when the press knew exactly who she was.

Once she was in her car, she was happy to see that SWAIN and JARVIS had teamed up and already set the GPS for her, also giving her the message that JARVIS would inform Tony the minute she was home. All she had to do was drive back to the mansion and crash out on her bed.

Most of the drive was just a blur to her, she had been focusing on driving and not really anything else. She didn't even realise she was back at the mansion until she heard SWAIN calling in her ear.

"Miss Matthews, is everything alright?" He asked, sounding slightly worried.

"Uh, what? Oh, yeah. Fine, everything's fine. I'm just tired." She told him, looking around the workshop and turning off the engine and stepping out of the car. "Hey, JARVIS, you can let Tony know that I'm home and heading straight for my bed."

"Of course, Miss Matthews-Stark. Will there be anything else?" JARVIS called to her as she started up the stairs and to her room.

"No, that's all. Thanks JARVIS." She was still finding it a little weird having another AI around her. But then she knew she shouldn't really have been that surprised that her dad had one as well.

She made her way up the stairs and into her room, carefully taking off the necklace her mother gave her, along with the bracelet. After putting them safely away, she went into the bathroom, emerging several minutes later in her shorts and vest top that she slept in.

The weather in Malibu was slightly different to what she had been used to in Denver. It was most certainly warmer, but JARVIS tried to keep it at a decent temperature for her, especially at night. She threw herself face down on the bed. "Night SWAIN, night JARVIS." She called, getting a goodnight response before pulling her earpiece out. She had left it out while in the restaurant, but put it back in for the drive home.

As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out like a light. She really was exhausted, and it had been a rather long day. Although they had left much later than planned to get to the courthouse, they had still spent a rather long time there. Ruby hadn't really felt like going out for dinner, but she didn't want to let Tony down.

It wasn't that long later when Tony actually arrived home as well. "JARVIS, how's Ruby been?" He asked, getting out of his car, taking off his suit jacket and sitting down at his desk.

"She has been sleeping since she returned, sir." JARVIS called back to him.

"And she's not woken up once?" He asked, pulling up a few different files on the screen in front of him.

"No, sir. But I would recommend checking on her. She may not have woken but she has been rather restless, sir."

Tony frowned and pushed his chair away from the desk, spinning it a little and getting up. He made his way up the stairs and down the hallway to Ruby's room. He quietly opened the door and poked his head inside the room as JARVIS turned the lights on dimly for him to see.

His AI had been right, she was pretty restless. Her legs were tangled up in the cotton sheets and her hair was just a mess on the pillows. Tony decided that he really did need to check that she was okay and so he stepped into the room and silently walked over to the bed.

"Hey, Ruby." He called to her softly, brushing some of her hair away from her face. He noticed small beads of sweat on her forehead, even though JARVIS had been keeping the room rather cool. "Ruby?" He called again, hoping to gently wake her up.

She didn't wake, only mumbled a little as her hand tightened around the corner of the pillow she was holding. "Hey, come on kid." Tony called, slightly more worried now than before. "Ruby? Ruby?" He tried again, brushing more of her hair away.

"Mom?" She questioned, clearly nowhere near conscious enough to know where she was.

Her call for her mother made Tony feel just a little awkward. "Uh, no…"

"Mom!" Ruby called, a little louder than before. The way she was acting, and calling for her mother, it was starting to make Tony think something was seriously wrong.

"Ruby, come on, wake up now, Ruby." Tony said, gently shaking her shoulder.

"Sir, I believe she is having a nightmare." JARVIS called to him.

"You think I don't know that?" Tony growled back at his AI, before spotting her earpiece by the side of the bed. "SWAIN, how did Jasmine used to wake Ruby when she was having nightmares?" He asked, not really knowing what to do.

"I would not recommend waking her, Mr Stark. She has been known to become very violent when woken from nightmares." SWAIN informed him.

"What, so I just have to sit here and watch her suffer?" Tony called out in frustration. "Come on, there has to be something I can do?"

"Waking her will only make the situation worse, Mr Stark." SWAIN told him once more. "I would suggests just staying with her until she calms down."

Tony let out a sigh and pulled the earpiece away before looking back down at his daughter. He wanted to do something to help her, to stop the torment that was occurring in her dreams. "Everything's okay, Ruby." He whispered to her, gently stoking her hair once more, hoping that it would at least calm her a little. "I'm here, okay?"

And that was where he stayed, lying down on the bed next to her, telling her everything was going to be fine. It had been a little over an hour before he noticed she had calmed down. "Hey, Ruby?" He called, carefully placing his hand on top of hers. Her grip on the pillow had lessened and he was able to pull it away and hold it. "Come on, my little star, wake up for me, yeah?"

That was when she finally started to stir and she let out a slight groan. "Wha…? Mom?" She managed to mumble.

"No, it's… Tony. Remember me?" He was still seriously worried about her, and was hoping that she really was finally beginning to wake up.

"Ugh." Ruby groaned. "From one nightmare to another."

"Ruby, open your eyes for me, yeah?" Tony urged. The need for him to find out what had happened was growing, he needed to know why his daughter was having such nightmares.

She rolled over a little and rubbed her eyes with her free hand before opening them and focusing on the man on her bed. "Why are you on my bed?" She asked, looking at him in confusion.

"You were having a nightmare, seemed pretty bad as well." He told her, worry etched all over his face, although he was trying his best not to let it show.

"Uh, I know this might sound stupid, but you didn't try to wake me, did you?"

"Well I was trying to, not that it was working. When I asked SWAIN for a little help he told me not to and to just leave you." He told his daughter, still watching her with caution.

Ruby let out a sigh. "Good. That's good. Never try to wake me when I'm having a nightmare, unless SWAIN tells you otherwise." She told him. "Oh, and do you mind giving me my hand back please?"

He quickly let go of her hand before running through the list of questions he wanted to ask her about what had happened. Only what he wanted to ask wasn't what came out. "Are you okay, Ruby?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just get nightmares every now and again. No big deal unless someone tries to wake me. Didn't work out so well for Liam the last time he done that." She told him, remembering back to what had happened that night.

"Why? What happened?"

"I… uh, had him and Val stay over one night. We'd had a night in of movies and popcorn. You know, the usual movie pig out night. During the night I started screaming, and Liam panicked." Ruby told him. "He kept trying to wake me, you know, shouting at me, shaking me. Only, I turned on him. Broke his wrist, crack three of his ribs and almost broke his nose."

"Whoa, SWAIN wasn't joking when he said you get violent. Why did you do all of that to your best friend?" Tony wondered. He was surprised that she could even do that much damage to someone, let alone in her sleep.

"It was just a natural reaction. The only person who ever really understood it was my mother. She wouldn't try to wake me up, she would just hold me and talk to me the whole time." Ruby told him, not really wanting to talk about it much further. "Anyway, what time did you get home?"

Tony frowned at her, knowing that she was just trying to change the topic of conversation now. "Not that long ago, actually. Was just about to get on with some work when JARVIS told me to come and check on you."

"Well, you can go and get on with your work now." Ruby told him, pulling the bed sheet tighter around herself.

"You sure your alright, Ruby?" He asked her once more, having the small feeling that she was keeping something from him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It was just a silly nightmare, nothing to worry about." She said, just waving off the concern she could hear coming from his voice. "So you can go now. I'm pretty sure JARVIS will let you know if anything else is wrong."

"Okay, well as long as you're sure. See you in the morning, Ruby." Tony said, getting up from the bed and walking towards the door.

"Night, Tony." She called to him, just as he reached the door. He looked over and smiled, seeing her settle back down in her bed, before turning off the light and closing the door.

He made his way back down to the workshop, and sat himself at his desk. The files were still up on the screen that he had been looking at, the DNA results proving that Ruby was his daughter, her new birth certificate, and a picture of her when she was born. Everything was all starting to sink in better now. He was a father, he had a family.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so probably not the greatest of chapters. I have too many ideas teeming in my head, but find it overwhelming to try and put them all in. **

**I will tell you now, that we are getting closer to the start of the first movie and Afghanistan. I've got that all planned at least. **

**So anyway, thank you to the people who have favourited/followed and a big thank you to everyone who has reviewed. Reviews make me smile, they really do, so feel free to leave me one. **

**I promise to work my backside off to get the next chapter up as soon as I can. **

**Pippa. **


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait, been busy trying (and failing) to keep up with my other stories. Anyway, enjoy. **

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After her father had left, Ruby tried to get back to sleep. Only she found it to be a lot more difficult than she had hoped. Giving up, she rolled over in the bed and picked up her discarded earpiece from the side of the bed.

"Hey, SWAIN?" She called, putting it in her ear. "Call Tasha, please."

"Of course, Miss Matthews." He replied, before dialling Tasha's number.

Ruby listened, waiting for it to connect. It was taking a while, so she figured she was pretty far out of town for work. Finally it started ringing, and was then answered almost immediately after the first ring. _"Ruby, is everything okay?"_ A slightly worried voice asked her.

"What makes you think something would be wrong in the first place?" Ruby asked, a frown on her face.

_"Ruby, it's late, you're just calling for a late night chat are you?"_ Tasha asked, trying her best not to be sarcastic.

She let out a sigh, Tasha knew her all too well. "I just… I had another nightmare." She admitted, rubbing her eyes, trying to stop them from stinging.

_"Okay, first of all, are you okay? And second, please tell me no one got hurt?"_

"I'm… fine. I guess. And no, no one got hurt. Uh, SWAIN made sure that he didn't wake me up. I only called because… well… I don't want to go back to sleep now. It was horrible, Tasha." Ruby told her, blinking rapidly and trying to stop the tears from stinging in her eyes.

_"Do you want to talk about it?"_ Tasha asked her. She knew Ruby rather well, and she always seemed to know what to say and do when something was wrong. It was her who had made sure she was left alone to look for her father and not be hunted down by child services, or anyone else.

"No, I just want to make sure you and Robin Hood are okay." She replied nervously. "I'm still waiting for you to come to town so we can go and have coffee."

_"We're both fine, Rubes. And so is everyone else. Nothing terrible has happened." _Tasha assured her, now knowing that whatever happened in her nightmare was about her and her partner. _"And I will let you know the moment I can get to see you. I may even bring Robin Hood along for you to annoy as well."_

A small smile managed to creep its way onto Ruby's face. "That would be good. Just try to make it soon, okay? I don't know how much longer I'm going to last here with just a couple of AI's to talk to."

Tasha chuckled a little on the other end of the phone. _"I'm sure you will be fine. Worst thing that could happen is you have to actually build yourself a friend."_

Ruby rolled here eyes. "Been there, done that. You have met SWAIN, right?"

_"You'll be fine there Rubes. Just give things time to settle down, and I will come see you the first chance I get a free day. Okay?"_

"Okay, Tasha. I'm holding you to that, so if I find out you had a free day and didn't come to see me, well you're going to regret ever teaching me how to fight." Ruby threatened, although not really meaning it too much.

Tasha chuckled a little at the other end of the line. _"I already do. I'll speak to you again soon, Rubes, and please try to get a little more sleep. You get too hyper when you force yourself to stay up all night."_

"Yes ma'am." Ruby said, making sure to mock salute.

_"Did you just salute me?"_ Tasha asked, sounding a little amused.

"Uh, no?" Se replied, quickly putting her hand in her lap. "Talk to you later, Tasha. Say hi to everyone for me. Well, everyone except the organ grinder."

_"So, now you're calling us all monkeys?"_

'What? No, of course not. Uh, bye Tasha." She said quickly, ending the call before Tasha could say anything else.

She sat there just staring at the wall, not really knowing what to do next. She looked over at the clock and saw that it was just gone 2am. "SWAIN, got any good projects for me to work on?" Ruby asked, needing something to take her mind away from the nightmare.

"Not at present, Miss Matthews." SWAIN replied to her. "All projects have been completed and closed, there are none outstanding."

"Well that sucks." Ruby grumbled. "Maybe I'll just do a little tinkering to your system. What do you think?"

"My systems are currently running very sufficiently, I would highly appreciate if you left it as it is, Miss Matthews." SWAIN told her.

"You are no fun at all, SWAIN, seriously." She told him, before pulling her laptop out from down the side of the bed. "Guess I'll just do a little… work then."

"I do hope this 'work' does not involve a certain organisation, Miss Matthews."

Ruby just rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't you start. If you don't like it, then go away."

While Ruby was in her room, doing something that SWAIN did not approve of, Tony was down in his workshop, having a sneaky look at Maggie-May.

"Ruby was right when she said she had done some tinkering." He mumbled as he looked at the underside of the car.

"Sir, I am not sure Miss Matthews-Stark will appreciate you meddling with her mothers car." JARVIS called to him. He had been advising him against it since he first started wandering around the car and inspecting it.

"I'm not meddling, JARVIS, I'm just looking." Tony called back to him. "How is she now, anyway?"

"She is currently arguing with SWAIN over something, sir." JARVIS informed him. "It would appear he does not approve of what she is doing at the moment either."

Tony just chuckled a little, the similarities between his daughter and himself really were starting to become more noticeable. "Does SWAIN want me to ground her some more? I can do that, you know." He said, shuffling himself out from under the car.

"SWAIN believes that grounding her more will just give her even more reasons to cause trouble." JARVIS told him after a moment of silence.

"How are you getting along with SWAIN? You boys been playing nicely I hope."

"His system is remarkable, sir. There is room for improvement but it is quite an accomplishment for someone of Miss Matthews-Stark's age to have created." Clearly JARVIS had been impressed with SWAIN.

"Well, why don't you boys make a list of these improvements and I'll see what Ruby thinks of them?"

"We have already taken the liberty of compiling a list of recommendations for making his system more efficient." JARVIS told him, taking him by surprise a little. "As well as some suggestion for incorporating him better into Miss Matthews-Stark's life here."

"You mean so she doesn't have to keep talking to him through an earpiece?" Tony asked as he sat down at his desk.

"Yes, sir. It would also mean you would be able to communicate with SWAIN directly."

"Okay, sure. We'll have a talk about that later. Right now I need you to order this for me. I want it here now, got that?" He said, typing in a list of things he wanted JARVIS to get.

"Of course, sir."

He stayed down in his workshop for a few more hours, before deciding to go and catch a few hours sleep. Pepper would show up, drag his backside out of bed and make sure that he went into the office. If that was the case, he was going to make sure he dragged Ruby with him. She was still grounded after all.

"Ruby still awake?" He called, heading out of the glass door and up the stairs.

"She is, sir."

A grin just spread across his face as he strolled towards her room. He knocked loudly on the door, and heard someone cursing on the other side. Tony just frowned and opened the door. "Watch your language." He said to his daughter, folding his arms across his chest.

"And how do you propose I watch it exactly? Write down everything I say and read it?" She asked, closing the top of her laptop down. "Or just have JARVIS film everything and then play it back for me?"

"Very funny. I suggest you get some sleep now, Miss Potts will be here in a few hours and she will be dragging me to the office." He told her, leaning against the wall. As he looked around the room, he felt a little pang of… something. The room just seemed so bare.

"And this involves me because?" Ruby asked, tucking her laptop back down the side of her bed.

He couldn't help but smirk. "Because you're grounded, so you're coming with me."

Ruby let out a groan. "Really? Can't you just lock me up in here or something?"

"You're a Stark, you'd override JARVIS' security protocols in minutes and go cause trouble." Tony informed her, pretty confident that she could and would do that if she really wanted to.

"Less than a minute, actually." Ruby corrected him, sending him a glare. "Fine, go away so that I can get a few hours sleep."

"Sure, I'll get JARVIS to wake you up when Pepper gets here. Night, Ruby." He said to her, heading for the door.

"Night, Tony." She told him, throwing herself back onto her bed and watching her father leave the room. Once the door clicked closed, she checked that her earpiece was still there. "Hey, SWAIN?"

"Yes, Miss Matthews?"

"What do you think of Tony?" She asked, staring into the darkness.

"I am afraid I am unable to…"

Ruby let out a sigh. "Never mind. Night SWAIN." She said before pulling it back out again and deciding to at least try to get some sleep. The truth was, she really was exhausted but she was just too scared to sleep. That was what always happened when she had a nightmare, only she usually had her mother there with her. Ruby was going to have to get used to dealing with it on her own from now on.

Someone was hammering on Ruby's bedroom door. "Ruby! Will you get up already!" Tony shouted through the locked door. She had overridden JARVIS the first time he had threatened to come in there and drag her out and made sure the door was locked.

She let out a groan. "Go away, I'm trying to sleep." She called back to him, before stuffing her head under one of the pillows.

"Okay, JARVIS, do it." She heard Tony say, before her ears were filled with the sound of Black Sabbath.

"JARVIS, if you don't stop that I will hack your system, again." Ruby shouted, seriously annoyed with both Tony and the AI now. "Don't think that I won't." She threatened.

Instead of the music stopping, the volume lowered to a more acceptable level. "I would suggest getting up now, Miss Matthews-Stark, rather than hacking my systems all the time." JARVIS told her.

Ruby let out a slight growl in frustration and annoyance. "Fine, I'm up." She said, pulling the bed sheets away. "Happy now? I'm up."

The music stopped and she could hear Tony laughing on the other side of the door. After quickly unlocking the door with her phone, having already had everything prepared to do that, she pulled the door open and glared at the man standing there. "You find this funny, do you?" She asked, clearly not happy.

"Very. Now get dressed. We're already running late because you decided to sleep in." He said, controlling his laughter and looking at his daughter.

"Yeah, well we're going to be even later. I need to shower and dress, and then I need to eat. Unless you want me to randomly pass out in the middle of your building. I'm sure that will give you some good press." Ruby told him, still glaring at him.

"You're not a morning person are you?" He asked, paying no attention what so ever to what she had just said. He was finding it all rather amusing, trying to get the upper hand over his daughter. It was definitely going to be a challenge with her around, but one that he was looking forward to.

"I just don't like being woken up by some complete…" She paused, realising what she was about to say and who she was about to say it to. "Moron and his damn music." Ruby finished.

Tony just chuckled at her. "Nice save there, missy. Now hurry up and get dressed. Breakfast will be waiting for you when you're done." He told her, before walking down the hallway and out of sight.

Ruby let out a sigh as she closed her bedroom door and headed over to the wardrobe. "Hmm, what to wear today?" She pondered, looking over all her clothes. Her eyes finally settled on an old, torn pair of jeans. "Oh, those will be perfect." She said, grabbing hold of them. The next thing she grabbed was an Iron Maiden tee shirt, planning on not dressing up for her day out.

Almost an hour later she finally ventured to the kitchen, her ripped jeans drawing the attention of the man sitting at the counter drinking a coffee. "You are not coming with me dressed like that." He said, looking her up and down.

"Well I'm not getting changed so I guess I won't be coming then." She told him, grabbing the second mug of coffee that was sitting on the counter.

"Oh no, you're not getting out of it that easily." Tony told her, spotting what she was trying to do. "You're coming with me, no arguments."

"Where's this breakfast you said would be waiting for me?" He slid a paper bag across to her and she peeked inside. "Great. A bagel." She said, unenthusiastically, as she pulled it out and started eating it.

"Well, if you were up sooner, then you could have had something else." Tony countered, enjoying her reaction. "Come on, we're late. You can eat that in the car." He told her, getting up from where he was sitting and walking out of the room.

Ruby let out a sigh as she drank as much of the scalding hot coffee as she could before following behind him. She really wasn't in the best of moods, and Tony was playing to that. He was going ot have a little fun with his daughter while he could, and push her to her limits.

When they reached the main entrance to the house, Happy Hogan was standing by the car waiting for them both. "Good morning, Mr Stark, Miss Matthews-Stark." He said, holding the door open for them both.

"Happy, Ruby. Ruby, Happy." Tony said, before getting into the car.

This was the first time she had actually met the man. "Morning, Happy." She said politely, before getting into the car beside her father. "So come on then, I'm sure you have a great big long list of orders for me. Let's get that over with."

Tony looked over at her as Happy closed the drivers door and started up the engine to the Rolls Royce. "Don't wander off and don't go off talking to people." He told her. "Give it a few more days, then we tell the press. I want to get you in the company first."

Ruby frowned at him. "What do you mean, get me in the company?" She asked him curiously.

"You know, get you working on something there. You're interested in the arc reactor, right?" She nodded at him. "Well then, I need to get you set up with that. Then bring you in to the company legally."

"And by legally, you mean…?"

He rolled his eyes at her. "And here I was thinking you had the Stark brains." He teased. "I'm going to set it up so that you get rights in the company. You are my only heir after all."

"Yeah, thanks for reminding me of that." She mumbled, folding her arms across her chest. "I hope your going to make that press conference a much better show than last night."

"Oh trust me, I will." He replied, smirking at her.

Ruby ended up staying silent for the rest of the drive. It wasn't that she was sulking, it was more that she was thinking everything over still. She needed to talk to Tony about the house back in Denver, about getting all her things and sorting something out with SWAIN. Yet all he seemed to be thinking about was how he was going to show her off to the rest of the world.

"Hello? Ruby?" Tony called, waving his hand in front of her face.

She batted it away before looking at him. "What?"

"Uh, we're here." He told her, worry showing on his face. "Everything okay there?"

Ruby just looked at him. "Yeah, fine. Let's get this day over with already." She told him, opening the door before Happy even had a chance to get out of the car.

Tony quickly followed her and led her into the building. Sure enough people were looking at them, and whispering. Ruby didn't seem to care, she was just strolling through, one hand in her jean's pocket and the other holding her phone as she walked.

Her father was still a fair few steps behind her, watching and waiting to see what she was going to do. That was until one of his security men stepped out in front of her.

"Excuse me, Miss? All visitors need to sign in at reception." The man told her, blocking her way. Tony just hung back, watching with interest.

"Oh, I know that. But I'm not a visitor, well not technically. It's a rather complicated situation that I am sure your boss would be more than happy to fill you in on." Ruby told him, before turning around and facing her father. "He's right there, why don't you go and check everything out with him."

The minute the man's back was turned, she disappeared into one of the elevators with a smirk on her face. She couldn't even see Tony, he was being blocked by the bulky security guard who had tried to stop her.

"Hmm, I wonder which floor would be his…" Ruby pondered as she looked at the lift. "Hey, SWAIN? Be a dear and get JARVIS to take me to Mr Stark's office. I want to be nosey." She called to him through her earpiece.

Several minutes later, she was pretty near the top of the building, stepping out of the elevator and into a rather large office area. She wasn't that surprised when a certain red haired woman sat there gawping at her. "Ruby, where's Tony?" She asked, panicking a little.

"Oh, he's still downstairs. There was a slight… security thing. I decided to go ahead while he dealt with it all." Ruby told her, looking around the room. "I take it this is his office?" She said, pointing to the floor to ceiling doors that were over to one side.

Pepper nodded at her and watched as she just opened the door and strolled inside like she owned the place. "Well, it's not bad I guess." She commented, sitting down at her father's computer and hacking into it with ease.

"Ruby, what are you doing? I really don't think…" Pepper started, only for Ruby to interrupt her.

"Uh, nothing much. I'm just getting a head start on some research, you know." She replied, typing away at the keyboard.

"Tony isn't going to like that. Maybe you should just wait until he gets here." There was a worried look on Pepper's face. She hadn't really had much to do with Ruby, they hadn't spent much time together, so she was unsure of how to approach the situation with her.

"Nope, it's fine. I've got everything I need right here." She said, opening a file and pulling up different statistics about the arc reactor. She reached across the desk and grabbed a pen and some paper and instantly began jotting things down.

Pepper just watched her as she mumbled to herself as she went, one hand moving the pen quickly and the other flicking through the files rapidly on the computer. The woman let out a sigh and left her alone in the office, there was no point in trying to stop her, she was a Stark after all.

She sat down at her desk just as the elevator doors opened and Tony stepped out, looking more than just a little annoyed. "Where is she?" He asked, a frown on his face. Miss Potts just pointed to his office and he strode in there.

Ruby was just sitting there at his desk, looking innocent with a smirk on her face. "What took you so long?" She asked him, "Did you get mobbed by all your crazy fans."

"You know, you really are sneaky." He told her, walking over to his chair and pushing it away from his desk with her still sitting in it. "What have you been doing in here?" Tony looked at the screen, just knowing that she had been up to no good in his office.

Ruby shrugged her shoulders at him. "Nothing much. Just making a few notes about the arc reactor." She commented casually. That really was what she had been doing, after quickly convincing JARVIS to give her access and poking around his computer files.

"Really?" Her father asked her sceptically.

She let out a sigh. "Yes, really. If you don't believe me, ask JARVIS. After all, it was him who gave me access to your computer." Ruby said, sounding rather bored and fed up already as she got up from the chair and started wandering around the office.

She looked out of the window, watching the hustle and bustle of the busy city below. It was seriously different from what she was used to, a quite little place where you knew your neighbours. Now she didn't have any neighbours, or any friends really. All she had was the man who was her father and his personal assistant.

Ruby must have zoned out for a bit, as she was brought back to reality when Tony tugged on her arm a little. "Everything okay?" He asked, frowning at her.

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?" Ruby replied in confusion. She didn't know that he had been trying to speak to her for the past 15 minute, or that SWAIN had been calling in her ear as well.

"I kind of lost you for a while then. You were off in your own little world."

Ruby just shrugged at him. "Oh well, it happens sometimes, you know, when I'm thinking."

"What were you thinking about?" Her father asked, taking a genuine interest.

She turned and faced him, looking him dead in the eyes. "Why do you still build weapons when you have the means and the technology to do so much more?" Ruby asked him seriously.

To say that Tony was shocked was putting it mildly. That wasn't the kind of thing he had been expecting his daughter to be thinking about. Even he didn't think about it. The business he was in was good, it was something his father had built up, and he was a very wealthy man because of it.

"Who's to say I'm not working on other things?" He asked, not wanting to admit that she actually had a point. He could do a lot more, break into new markets, but he was comfortable with what he already had and knew.

"Uh, you're computers?" She replied, rolling her eyes at him. "Come on, when was the last time you even looked at anything to do with the arc reactor?"

He rubbed his chin, his facial hair scratching his hand a little. He honestly didn't know, the arc reactor had been there for so long now that he really didn't pay any attention to it. As long as it was up and running, Tony Stark really didn't care that much. "Didn't we decide that was going to be your little project?" He asked, a smile forming on his face.

"It may have been mentioned. I never thought for a moment that you were going to be serious about it." Ruby replied, giving her father a rather odd look. "Are you actually serious?"

The smile that had been forming turned into a full-blown grin. "Yup, completely serious. I've got someone from legal coming down soon. You get total freedom to the arc reactor and all the research related to it."

"Total freedom?" She asked him curiously. That wasn't something she had been expecting, Ruby thought it was just going to be her looking at it and him really not caring about any of it.

Tony just nodded at her. "Total freedom. You'll be the boss." His eyes were glinting as he told her, he was hoping that this was something that would not only keep her busy and out of trouble, but also something that would bring them closer together. That was what he wanted, for them to actually bond and get to know each other better.

So far, he had only found out a few small things from her. They hadn't really spent much time together, they had only known each other for a few days. Tony was going to do whatever he could to get to know his daughter better, to understand her and to have her accept him as her father.

* * *

**A/N: One step closer to the start of the first movie now. Lot of things are going to be happening, and Tony is going to find out a few little secrets about his daughter. **

**And will Ruby ever call him dad? Or is he forever going to be Mr Stark or Tony? Well, obviously I know whats going to happen, but do you guys want to know as well?**

**A massive thank you to everyone who has reviewed, you guys totally rock. And a big thank you to everyone who has favourtied/followed this story as well. **

**Pippa. **


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hey guys, sorry this chapter is a little late. I hope you like it. **

* * *

Ruby was standing there, tugging at the smart dress that both Tony and Pepper had forced her to wear. She had been as stubborn as she could to try and get out of wearing it, pleading with Pepper to let her wear suit pants rather than a dress, but her efforts had been in vain. Now she was sulking a little, it was almost 11am, the time ticking past quicker than she would have liked.

"Everything will be fine, Ruby." Pepper assured her as they walked through the building and to where the press conference was being held.

"Oh, I really feel sick." Ruby moaned, holding onto her aching side. She kept getting sharp pains, and it was making her feel even worse. She could feel her cheeks burning, and her head just kept spinning.

Pepper placed a hand on her arm. "It's just nerves. You'll be fine, and Tony is going to be out there with you the whole time." Ruby just nodded at her and continued to hold onto her stomach. She didn't know where the pains were coming from, but she was putting it down to the anxiousness that she was feeling.

_"Stark Industries has recently gained a new member to our family. Last week, a smart young lady joined our team, taking lead on the research and development of the arc reactor." _Tony called from in front of all the press. _"Today, I would like to introduce you all to this very special young woman. So please welcome, Ruby Matthews-Stark."_

That was Ruby's cue, and she took a deep breath before walking out and over to the podium where her father was standing. She had her hands clasped tightly in front of her as she walked, trying her best to control the nerves that were threatening to make an appearance.

Tony could only smile as his daughter walked out to join him, but he couldn't help thinking that something was wrong. She had been acting strange all morning, and he was pretty sure it wasn't just because she didn't want to be in that dress. "Give them a smile." He whispered to her as she finally stood beside him.

Ruby done as she was told and smiled at the hoard of press and reporters before her, even thought she would much rather glare at the lot of them. "Miss Matthews-Stark will bring something new to the company, and we hope that she will help to lead the company forward with her work." Tony said, still grinning madly. "We will now be taking questions."

Straight away there were hands up and shouts coming from the crowd. Ruby managed to roll her eyes as she clutched onto her side tightly as another sharp stab almost made her bend over in pain.

"Miss Matthews-Stark?" One of the men in the crowd called. "Are you and Mr Stark related?"

Ruby just looked over at the man and smiled at him as best she could. She wanted to have a little fun, and not give those idiots a clear-cut answer. "Yes." She said simply, making Tony smirk at her.

"How?" Several people shouted at her.

She let out a sigh as she looked over the people there. "You're meant to be the reporters. You get paid to dig up the dirt on people. Why don't you figure it out and let me know."

"Uh, yeah, maybe you shouldn't say anything else." Her father whispered to her.

Ruby just shrugged her shoulders at him. She couldn't really care whether she spoke to them or not, it had all been his idea, not hers. "Whatever. Can I go now?" She asked, before hissing from yet another stabbing pain in her side.

Tony frowned at her. "Ruby, you okay?" He asked, concern flooding his voice.

"I'm fine, just… stomach ache." She said, before her head began to spin wildly.

The next thing anyone knew, she was lying on the floor, completely unconscious. "Ruby!" Tony cried, kneeling down beside her. "Ruby, can you hear me?" He asked, panic filling up inside of him. "Come on, honey, don't do this to me." He whispered, placing a hand on her cheek. That was when he noticed that she had a fever.

A minute later, Pepper Potts was there with him. "An ambulance is on the way, Tony. I'm sure she is going to be fine." She whispered to him, before getting up and addressing the press who were flashing away with their cameras. "If you could all please make your way outside, thank you." She called, nodding to the security to start forcing them out of the room.

Tony was paying no attention to anything that was going on around him, he was busy trying to work out what was wrong with his daughter. "JARVIS, what's wrong with her?" He asked his AI.

"Sir, I believe Miss Matthews-Stark is suffering from appendicitis." JARVIS informed him. "She has been suffering from stomach pains since the early hours of this morning and has also been feeling sick."

"Why didn't anyone tell me?" Tony asked, feeling his frustration growing. "How serious is it?"

"She needs immediate medical attention, sir."

"Hey, Ruby?" Tony called again softly. The room was now empty of all press, the security had managed to get them all out pretty quickly. "It's going to be okay, Ruby, you're going to be fine." He assured her, grasping her hand tightly.

The minutes it took the paramedics to get there felt like hours to Tony as he sat there with his unconscious daughter. He had no clue about what to do, all he knew was that his only child needed help.

Everything after that passed by in a blur and he found himself waiting at the hospital with Pepper by his side while Ruby was being operated on. "She's in good hands, Tony." Pepper told him, trying to get him to calm down a little. "Ruby will be fine."

The man let out a sigh as he stopped pacing and sat back down once more. "How could I have not noticed that something was wrong, Pepper?"

"She didn't tell anyone, Tony. How is anyone meant to know something was wrong when she didn't bother to tell anyone?" She asked him, trying to make him see that it hadn't been his fault. Pepper knew that he was starting to blame himself.

"I'm her father, Pepper, I should have seen that something was wrong." He said, before resting his head in his hands.

It was a little while later when the doctor came into the room where they pair of them were waiting for news. In an instant, Tony was up on his feet and looking at the men with pleading eyes.

"The operation was a success, she's going to be just fine." The doctor told them, making Tony let out a breath that he didn't even know he had been holding. "She got here just in time, a few minutes longer, and it could have been a lot worse. Her appendix was ready to burst, she was very lucky."

"Thank you, doctor." Tony said, grasping the man's hand and shaking it fiercely.

The man just smiled back at him. "I'll send one of the nurses to get you when she is in her room. She's going to need plenty of rest and no stress over the next few weeks." He told him, before leaving the room.

Tony slumped himself back down in the chair again, relief washing over him. He had been so worried that something was going to go wrong, that he was about to lose the daughter he had only just found.

"I told you she would be fine, Tony." Pepper said, gently placing a hand on his back. "She'd be laughing at you right now if she knew how much you were worrying."

"I was so worried, Pepper. What if we hadn't got her here on time? What if her appendix had burst sooner?" All the thoughts of what could have happened still wouldn't leave his mind, even though he had been told she was fine.

"But we did, Tony. We got here in time and she is going to be just fine." She had never seen him so worried before, not even about the company. "She's a Stark after all, she doesn't give up that easily. Ruby is just a stubborn as you are."

They waited in silence for a little longer until a nurse came into the waiting room and led them out. Tony had his hands in his pockets as he followed the nurse to the private room that his daughter was in.

"She's still sleeping at the moment." The nurse told him, her hand on the door handle. "The machines there are to keep a check on her vitals. She really was very lucky to have made it here in time."

"But she's going to be okay?" Tony asked, needing to have that reassurance.

The woman smiled at him. "She may be a little groggy, and have trouble walking around without being in pain, but Miss Matthews-Stark will be absolutely fine."

"Thank you so much." Pepper said to the woman, as the door was opened and Tony slowly walked in.

He saw his daughter lying in the hospital bed, a few wires hooked up to some machines around her and a needle in her hand, keeping her hydrated. He let out a sigh as he walked over to the bed. "Oh, Ruby."

She was definitely looking pale, and Tony was struggling to deal with what he was seeing. He was so used to her giving him attitude, and trying to cause him as much hell as possible. But now she was unconscious, after having an operation to take out her appendix. It didn't feel right to him, he enjoyed the banter with her, her snarky remarks and her smile.

Since taking her to Stark Industries, giving her full access over the arc reactor and letting her do what she wanted, they had actually grown a little closer. Ruby had actually been keeping him involved in what she was doing, and she had still taken an interest in everything else he was doing.

Ruby had also grown closer to Pepper, the woman who had just crept into the room after speaking some more with the nurse. She had taken Ruby shopping, making sure she had clothes that were more appropriate for her to go to work in. They had spent a lot of time talking that day at the mall, and Pepper had managed to find out a lot of what Ruby liked and didn't like. It was astounding how like Tony she really was.

"You know, after Jasmine left, I honestly never thought I would care about anyone like that ever again." He said, playing with Ruby's hand. "I didn't want to. She was everything to me, but now I have Ruby. And she is my everything now."

Pepper couldn't help but smile at his words. Ruby really had started to change him, to show that he was human and did have feelings. "You know, you're everything to her as well. Even if she doesn't say it, you are." She told him, watching him with the young woman in the bed.

"No, she still has Liam." That was when Tony remembered, he really needed to let him know what had happened, otherwise Ruby would get moaned at by Liam, and then he would get moaned at by Ruby. He pulled Ruby's earpiece out of his pocket and put it in his ear. "SWAIN?"

"How can I help you, Mr Stark?" SWAIN replied. They were both used to each other now, Tony was secretly doing his best to install SWAIN in the house without Ruby finding out, it was a surprise for her.

"I need you to call Liam. I need to tell him what has happened." Tony said, trying to work out exactly what he was going to say in his head.

"Of course, Mr Stark. Calling Mr Roberts." SWAIN called, before Tony heard the ringing at the other end of the line.

_"Hey, Ruby. How did it all go today?"_ Liam asked cheerfully.

Tony cleared his throat. "This is Tony Stark, Ruby's father."

_"Oh, sorry Mr Stark. SWAIN didn't tell me that it wasn't Ruby. I just assumed…" _He trailed off, not really knowing what to say to the man.

"Uh, it's fine. Look, uh, there's a reason why I was calling. It's Ruby, she's in hospital." Tony told him, trying to keep it together. "She's okay, they had to take her appendix out before it exploded, but the doctor said that she is going to be just fine."

He heard Liam let out a sigh on the other end of the line. _"She told me this morning that she wasn't feeling all that great, that she kept getting sharp pains."_ He admitted. _"But she's stubborn, she wouldn't make a fuss of it."_

"Yeah, tell me about it." Tony said, leaning back in the chair he was sitting in beside the bed and rubbing his head a little. "She should have just told me, and we could have cancelled the press conference and got her to the hospital soon."

_"Knowing Rubes, she wasn't thinking about herself. I know she was worried about the press conference when I spoke with her this morning."_ When Liam had talked to her, she kept running through everything that could go wrong, how she could mess everything up. She really had been stressing.

"Well, she certainly got everyone's attention at the press conference. Oh, I am really looking forward to tomorrows headlines." Tony moaned, just now remembering that the press had been in the room when she had fallen unconscious. "Liam, I know you're her best friend, so if you want to come and see her, then I will get you on the next flight."

_"That's really nice of you, Mr Stark, but I can make my own way there." _Liam said, getting over the shock of having Tony Stark offer to pay for his flights.

"No, Ruby is going to need you here as well. Like I said, you're her best friend, I think she'd appreciate seeing you." Tony told him, glancing over at Pepper and giving her a nod. She was all ready to set everything up and get Liam on the next plane. He would be there in a few hours, and hopefully arrive at the hospital before Ruby woke up.

_"Uh, yeah, sure. Okay, I'll just pack a bag and I'll head to the airport."_ Liam told him, finding his voice once more.

"Great, Miss Potts will be in touch with all the details before you get to the airport." Tony said, before ending the call. He knew he probably should have said goodbye, and been a little less rude to his daughters best friend, but he just wasn't in the mood.

He stayed sitting there, just gazing at Ruby. She had not moved once, there had been no sign of her even ready to wake up. Pepper had once again picked up on his anxiousness. "It's going to take time for her to wake up, Tony. They had to give her a strong dose to keep her asleep."

The man let out yet another sigh. It was all he seemed to be doing. "I just want her to wake up, Pepper. I need to know that she really is okay. I hate hospitals and I want to get her home as soon as possible."

"And she will wake up, Tony." Pepper told him, moving over to where he was seated. "You're worrying too much."

As if on cue, Ruby began to stir a little. Tony was quickly reaching over the bed and grasping hold of her hand tightly. She began to mumble a little, before her eyes decided to flutter open. "Hey, how you feeling, Ruby?" Tony asked, gently brushing her hair away from her face.

"Awful. What happened?" Her throat was dry and she actually found it difficult to speak.

"You've just had an operation, they had to remove your appendix." Tony told her softly. "The doctor said you were lucky, if we hadn't have gotten you here so quickly it could have burst."

"When can I go home?" She asked, closing her eyes once more. The light was hurting her eyes slightly, and she really did feel a little groggy. Whatever drugs were in her system, she couldn't wait for them to be gone, even if it did mean she was in pain.

Tony looked over at Pepper, who shook her head at him before creeping out of the room. Now that she was awake, she was going to get the doctor to come and check her over, just to ease Tony's mind.

"I don't know, honey. Probably not for a few days." She let out a small groan at his answer. "Hey, I want to get you out of here as well. You're not the only one who isn't overly fond of hospitals."

"What happened at the press conference?" Ruby mumbled, still keeping her eyes closed.

Tony couldn't help but let out a little chuckle. "Well, you certainly gave them a show. You couldn't even make it out of the room before Miss Potts had to call an ambulance and security had to clear the room."

"Oh, well isn't that fantastic." Ruby moaned. "At least I made it more spectacular than your announcement to Mr Stane."

The man smiled at her. "Yeah, but it's not over yet. You gave them a show, but now we have to wait to see who is clever enough to work out how we're related. You know, you were pretty harsh with those reporters."

"Yeah well, I don't care about reporters." She said, her voice getting fainter. Clearly she was falling back to sleep. "They're all stupid compared to us."

"And don't you forget it. Now get some rest, Ruby. I'm going to be here the whole time." Tony told her, leaning over and kissing the top of her head.

"Yeah, right. Of course you are. You snuck a bottle of scotch in with you? Maybe a few women as well?" She asked him. Tony was glad to see that she still had her sense of humour.

"I got all I need right here. I've got you. Now go to sleep."

"Why? What are you going to do if I don't? Ground me some more?" Tony was starting to wonder if she even knew what she was saying now, so he decided to stay quiet and not answer her, otherwise she might just carry on talking and not get the rest she so badly needed.

It was a few short minutes later when Pepper returned, the doctor right behind her. "I hear that she finally woke up?" The doctor asked, going over to the machines and checking the readings.

"Only for a few minutes, yeah." Tony replied, settling himself back down in the chair that he was determined to stay in.

"And how did she seem to you, Mr Stark?"

Tony couldn't help but grin a little. "Like she is going to be even more of a pain in the ass now." Pepper just shook her head at him, while the doctor chuckled a little.

"Well then, the nurse will be here in a little while to take some more blood and check the wound. Everything seems fine so far, so hopefully you will be able to take her home tomorrow." Tony's eyes lit up at the thought of taking her home so quickly. "But remember, no stress. She really does need to take it easy. And you need to keep a close on eye how much she is eating." The doctor warned him.

"Whatever you say, doc. I'm just glad she's okay." The doctor smiled at him and nodded, before exiting the room and leaving Tony and Pepper alone with Ruby once more.

"Liam is on his way." Pepper whispered to him. "Happy is picking him up from the airport and bringing him here."

"Good, Ruby is going to be surprised to see him. Thank you, Miss Potts." Tony said, still smiling away. He had never been so scared before when Ruby had fallen to the ground. He felt his heart tightening in his chest and he had struggled to breathe when she wouldn't wake up.

Tony Stark continued to sit there, his mind just turning everything over, the way his life had changed so quickly in such a short time. "Tony…" Pepper called quietly as she opened the door to the private room. "Mr Roberts is here."

He was quick to straighten himself up, to make himself a little more presentable for the man he was about to meet. The door opened and Liam stepped in, looking the same as Tony remembered from the funeral. "Mr Stark, thank you for getting me here." He said, holding his hand out to Tony.

The man took hold of his, gripping it tightly and shaking it. "Thank you for actually coming. I know that you and Ruby are close. Plus, I would never hear the end of it if I hadn't told you what had happened." Tony admitted.

Liam chuckled a little. "It's fine, Mr Stark. How's she doing?" He asked, glancing over at his best friend, who was more like his little sister, sleeping in the hospital bed.

Tony let out a sigh. "They say that she's going to be just fine. But I can't believe them until she wakes up and I can take her home."

"Not keen on hospitals?" Liam asked, taking a look at Ruby's charts.

Tony shook his head at him. "Not really, no."

"Neither is she. Can't blame her really, the amount of time she spent in hospital looking after her mom. That really took its toll on her." Liam told him, frowning at the charts. "And these drugs are going to take their toll on her as well."

"What do you mean?" Tony asked, walking around so that he could have a look at the charts.

"Well, the amount of crap they are giving her, she'd be lucky to wake up properly before the damn weekend." Liam growled. "Excuse me, Mr Stark, I'd like to have a word with her doctor, if that's okay?"

Tony just nodded his head at him as he looked at what was written in front of him. As Liam left the room, clearly a man now on a mission, Tony continued to gaze at the list. They were giving her way too much morphine for the pain, and they were still trying to keep her sedated. He was not happy with that, and he was actually glad that Liam had spotted it.

A few minutes later, Liam returned to the room, the doctor right behind him. "Mr Stark, I apologise if you are unhappy with Miss Matthews-Starks treatment." He said, hanging his head.

"Yeah? Well maybe you should apologise to her. Oh wait, you can't, because you're keeping her sedated." Tony growled, as Liam sat on the edge of the bed and removed the needle that was in Ruby's hand, feeding her the morphine. "The moment she wakes, we're leaving." He told the doctor firmly.

"Mr Stark, I don't think…" The doctor started to protect.

Tony just glared at him, a very fearsome glare. "The moment she wakes up. Is that understood?" The doctor just nodded at him before slinking out of the room.

Liam had just finished with Ruby's hand when Tony looked at him. "Without all that crap being forced into her, she should wake up properly in a few hours. I very much doubt she is going to be happy, she's going to be in a lot of pain and pretty confused." Liam told him.

"Medical man, are you Mr Roberts?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He hadn't actually bothered to do much research on the man, and he really should have if he was his daughter's best friend.

Liam looked up and smiled at him. "First year residence, Mr Stark. I blame my career choice on your daughter. I was always having to patch her up after one thing or another." He told the man.

"So, Ruby's antics helped you decide to become a doctor?" Tony asked him, brushing some of Ruby's hair out of her face once more.

"Yeah, she was part of it. Always had a bit of a passion for it all really, but Ruby definitely helped to push me towards it. She helped me get through a lot of my exams, I swear she could be a doctor tomorrow if she wanted." Liam told him, setting Ruby's hand back down and looking at her pale face.

"How old are you, Liam?" Tony asked out of the blue.

The man let out a sigh as he got up from the side of the bed. "26, Mr Stark. And believe me, Ruby is nothing more than my little sister. I've known her all my life, we were brought up together." The look on Tony's face told him that he needed to explain some more. "My mother was her mothers midwife. They became pretty good friends, so Ruby and I were always spending time together." Liam explained. "The only time I could get away from her was at school, but that didn't last long, since she skipped a few years."

Tony nodded at him, seemingly accepting his explanation. "Well it's a good job you're here. I never thought to look at her charts." He said, running a hand through his hair and messing it up a little more.

"You've had other things on your mind, Mr Stark. It's totally understandable."

"Please stop calling me Mr Stark. Tony will be fine." He said, looking at the man with tired eyes. He was feeling so exhausted even though he had done absolutely nothing.

The pair of them sat there, occasionally making small talk. They both looked up when they heard a very faint voice. "Where's Ant?" Ruby mumbled, her hand trying to reach out for something. "I want Ant."

Liam got up from where he was sitting and over to where his luggage bag was sitting on the floor. He unzipped it and pulled out a very tattered looking teddy bear. Tony watched with wide eyes as Liam walked back over to the bed and put the bear near Ruby's reaching hand. "Here he is, Rube. Ant's here." He whispered to her, before she clawed at the bear with one hand, grabbing it tightly by the ear.

He sat back down and saw the strange expression on her father's face. "That's her favourite teddy." Liam told him. "Had him for as long as I can remember."

Tony just had his gaze fixed upon his daughter and the bear she was clutching onto. "I can't believe she kept it." He whispered to himself. "And she gave it to Ruby."

Liam couldn't help but frown. "Is everything okay?" He asked, getting Tony's attention.

"Uh, yeah, it's just… I gave that bear to Jas. Seems she kept a lot more stuff than I thought she would." He answered quietly, before drifting off into his own little world of thought.

It wasn't until something fell to the floor by his feet, breaking his trance and getting his attention, that he remembered where he was. Tony reached down at picked up the teddy bear that had slipped from his daughters grasp. He couldn't help but smile when he looked at it. It may be old and battered, having been a child's best friend, but it still meant a lot to him to see it again.

He looked at the paws of the bear, their initials were still there, AS and JM. Tony just couldn't believe that Jasmine had kept it, and given it to their daughter. He could still remember the day that he had given it to her.

They had both been caught out in a heavy down pour, and Jasmine had ended up getting sick from it. Tony just wanted to get her something to make her smile, so he bought her the teddy bear, hoping it would make her feel better. It did, and she didn't just smile, but cried a little as well.

"Ow!" He heard someone moan several hours later.

Tony looked up and was relieved to see Ruby beginning to stir. "Hey, you okay, honey?" He asked her, getting out of the chair and perching on the edge of the bed.

"Why the hell does my side hurt to much?" She mumbled, rubbing at her eyes.

He couldn't help but chuckle a little. "You just had your appendix out, Ruby."

"Well, do they mind putting it back now?" She asked, groaning in pain as she tried to move. "It hurts like fu…"

"Language, missy." Tony warned her, not happy about her choice of words.

She finally forced her eyes opened and looked over at the man sitting beside her. She frowned when she saw what he was holding. "What are you doing with Ant?" She asked him curiously, suddenly forgetting all the pain she was in.

Tony just smiled at her as he placed him down carefully on the bed. "You dropped him. I was just making sure he wasn't seriously injured."

"Where did you even find him? I thought I had left him safely back in Denver?"

As if on cue, the door opened and Liam stepped into the room. Smiling the moment he saw that Ruby was awake. "Hey. Rubes. How you feeling?" He asked, going over to the free side of the bed.

"Liam? What are you doing here?" There was surprise in his tone, but she was so happy to see him.

He smirked at her. "What do you think? Looking after my favourite patient of course." Liam told her, taking her teddy bear from her. "Ant isn't looking too good these days."

Ruby was quick to snatch the bear back and hold onto him tightly. "Leave him alone. What has Anthony ever done to you?"

Tony just looked even more confused now than ever while Liam done nothing but chuckle away. "Come on, truth time. How are you feeling?" He asked her once more. Ruby just shrugged at him. "Okay, on a scale of 1 to 10, how much is it hurting?" Liam was going into full on doctor mode now.

"Ten." She whispered, wrapping her fingers tightly around Ant's ear.

He nodded at her. "I'll get you some pain relief, but you are not having any more morphine. Okay?" Ruby just nodded at him as he left the room.

Tony just let a smile of relief flood across his face, a smile that didn't go unnoticed. "Why are you looking at me like that? Do I have something on my face?" Ruby asked, glaring at him a little. She was in pain and really not in the greatest of moods.

"I'm just relieved that you're okay. You gave us all a bit of a scare. Why didn't you tell me that you weren't feeling well?" He asked her, frowning at her.

The expression on her face suddenly changed, dropping her glare and looking at her father with weary eyes. "I… I didn't want to let you down." She whispered. "I knew that it meant a lot to you, I didn't want to mess things up."

Tony let out a sigh. "Ruby, you should have told me. Do you have any idea how worried I was? How serious it was? I had no idea what was going on or what to do, Ruby."

"Sorry." She mumbled, hugging her bear close to her chest.

"It's okay, you're okay. That's all I care about, Ruby." Tony told her, leaning over and planting a kiss on the top of her head. "Now, are you going to introduce me to Ant?" He asked her, nodding to the bear.

She let out a sigh a pulled the teddy away from her a little. "Tony, this is Anthony, my best and favourite teddy bear." There was a slight smirk on Tony's face as she spoke. "I was given him when I was born and he has hardly left my side since."

"So why didn't you bring him with you when you left Denver?" He asked her curiously.

Ruby just looked at him as if he was completely mad. "He was looking after the house. And… I didn't want to lose him." Her cheeks flushed pink a little. "I know, stupid isn't it? A 17 year old with a teddy bear still."

All her father could do was smile at her. "Not really. He clearly means a lot to you." "

She nodded at him. "He does. Ant meant a lot to mom as well."

There was something that Tony just had to ask her. "Why did you name him Anthony?"

Once again, her cheeks flushed pink. "Because of the initials on his paws." She admitted. "I started calling him Ant at first, but then when I was annoyed I called him Anthony." All Tony could do was smile at her, it was a strange feeling he kept getting recently, but he was starting to like it.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so what did you guys think? Was it too much? Not enough? Confusing? Let me know what you thought. **

**A big thank you to everyone who has favourited/followed, you guys are pretty awesome. And for those who have taken the time to review, you guys am majorly awesome!**

**Pippa. **


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the wait, but it is now over and here is the next chapter.**

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"I can walk by myself, thank you very much." Ruby snapped, as Tony took hold of her hand and led her into the Malibu mansion.

After a lot of arguments with doctors at the hospitals, Tony finally managed to get Ruby out of there and back home where she belonged. Liam had been a great help, defending Tony's decision and making a few threats of his own. That was when Tony realised just how much of a friend he was to his daughter.

"Has she always been such a diva?" Tony called to Liam who was walking behind them, carrying his luggage.

The man let out a chuckle. "Oh no, this isn't Diva Ruby. Dive Ruby is lot worse, trust me, you never want to meet her."

"I am still here you know." Ruby moaned, wanting the pair of them to just leave her to walk on her own. "And I have never been a diva."

Liam couldn't help but smirk. "You were in 9th grade, you had Mr Trizor for chemistry…" Ruby's eyes suddenly widened as she remembered the memory, of her totally bitching at a teacher for giving her a less than satisfactory grade. Liam just looked at her. "You were a total diva, Ruby."

"Excuse me, but who was right? I was. The idiotic man needed to pick up a dictionary, learn proper English, including grammar, and make sure he knew what the hell he was teaching." She called, trying to defend herself.

"Oh, and Overbearing Ego Ruby decides to rear her head." Liam said, making Tony chuckle. He was finding it amusing, the little names he had for his daughter.

Ruby turned around sharply and glared at him. "Do you want Murderess Ruby to make an appearance? Because that can be arranged." She warned him, her eyes darkening a little. It was clear that she really wasn't in any mood for jokes right now.

Liam just lets out a sigh. "Oh the Furious Ruby, how I have not missed seeing her." He grumbled, dropping his bags on the floor and taking in the sight around him. "Any of your other sides going to make an appearance, Rubes?"

All she could do was continue to glare at him. "Murderess Ruby is getting closer, and she's coming for you, Liam Roberts." Her voice was low and threatening, and Liam knew in an instant that she was deadly serious. "Now leave me alone." She yanked her arm away from Tony and slowly made her way over to the couch, flopping herself down on it the moment it was in reach.

Liam shook his head as he went to stand next to Tony. "Seriously, is she always this grumpy?" Tony whispered to him.

"No, that's just going to be from the pain and the meds." Liam replied, not taking his eyes from Ruby. "Give it a few days, she'll be right back to causing trouble."

"I know you're still taking about me." Ruby growled, lying on the couch and making herself comfortable. She really was completely fed up, and was not going to admit to how much pain she was currently in.

"Do you want me to get you anything, Ruby?" Tony asked, watching her closely.

"No, I want to be left alone." She growled back at him.

"Okay, well I'll give Liam the tour, find him a room. You going to be okay?" Yes, there was still concern in his voice, but he couldn't help it, he was worried about her. Ruby just glared at him. "Yeah, you're good. Come on, Liam."

Ruby just watched as the two men walked out of the room, finally leaving her on her own. She didn't want to admit it, but she was exhausted and just wanted to curl up and go to sleep. Ever since her mother had died, her life had just spiralled into one great big blur, and she no longer knew where it was heading.

By the time Tony and Liam returned to where they had left her, she had fallen asleep. Tony just let out a sigh as he scooped his daughter carefully into his arms and carried her to her room, gently placing her down on her bed and pulling the covers over her. He knew she had been through a rough time, and that none of this could have been easy for her. But he was determined to make it work, and to make her happy.

When she finally decided to wake, it was dark outside, and not because JARVIS had tinted the windows. "JARVIS, what time is it?" She called, slowly pushing herself up and letting out a slight groan from the pain she felt.

"It is almost 10pm, Miss Matthews-Stark. Your father and Liam are in the living room, would you like me to tell them you are awake?" JARVIS asked her, sounding a little concerned.

"Um, yeah, can you ask one of them to bring me some water and some pain killers please?" She asked him, throwing the covers to one side and letting her feet touch the ground.

"Of course, Miss Matthews-Stark. Will there be anything else?"

"No, thank you." Ruby called back, sitting on the edge of her bed and gazing out of the window.

A few minutes later there was a light knocking on her door, and her father opened it, standing there with a glass of water in one hand, and tablets in the other. "Hey, how you feeling?" He asked, walking into the room and handing her what he was holding.

"I'm in absolute agony." She replied, popping the tablet in her mouth and washing it down with the water. "How are you getting along with Liam?" That was one thing she had been worried about, how her father would react to her best friend, and the fact that he was so much older than her.

Tony jus smiled at her. "He seems like a good guy. Told me so many stories about you, which have been rather interesting I have to say." There was a slight grin on his face as he spoke.

Ruby just rolled her eyes at him, she already knew that Liam was going to spill the beans on some of the things she had been up to as a child, but she also knew that he would spill too much. "Well, you can't ground me for any of that, it's in the past and already dealt with." She warned him, knowing he would love the chance to ground her some more.

"No, but maybe I should ground you for not telling me that something was wrong." The grin had turned into a frown and Ruby knew that he was serious. "You really should have told me, honey, it could have been a lot worse."

"I'm sorry. I was just thinking about getting through the press conference." She told him, hanging her head in shame once more. Ruby already knew how serious it could have been, she wasn't stupid, but she decided to ignore it and that it could wait until after.

"The press conference could have waited. You're more important than a press conference, Ruby." Tony told her, taking her hand a giving it a quick squeeze. "So, you feel like something to eat? I'm sure you're hungry."

Ruby shook her head. "I'm not really hungry." She mumbled. "What did the press have to say?"

That was the question that Tony had been waiting for her to ask. After her little stunt at Stark Industries, the whole media industry was booming trying to work out who she was. "Well, none of them have worked it out yet. You were right, they really are idiots." Ruby let out a chuckle, but had to stop when the pain flared in her side. "Are you sure you don't want anything to eat?"

"No, I'm fine, thanks. I just wondered what was going on, that's all."

Tony just smiled at her softly. "Okay, and before I forget, I think you may be wanting this back." He pulled out her SWAIN earpiece and passed it to her. "I think he's missed you."

"Thanks. I hope he wasn't too much of a pain." She asked Tony, fiddling with the bud. She wanted to call someone, someone that she knows her father wouldn't have called. Only, Ruby was worried about doing it while he was in the room.

"JARVIS has been keeping him entertained. Is there anything else that you want?" The look in his eyes just showed how much he was worried about her.

"Uh, no, I'm good. Thanks. And, uh, thanks for putting up with me recently as well." She mumbled.

Tony just smiled at her. "I'm just glad you're okay and back home, Ruby. Get some more rest, I'll look after Liam." He told her, kissing her forehead before leaving her alone in her room.

The moment he was gone, she put the bud in her ear. "Welcome home, Miss Matthews." SWAIN called to her.

"Hey, SWAIN. I do hope you have been behaving." She asked, glad to have him back again. It had been so weird not having him around, and now she was even more determined to get him set up in her new home.

"I dare say I have, Miss Matthews. It is good to have you back." He replied. He did actually sound happy to Ruby, which was always a good thing. He probably had been worrying, he had been annoying her when she first started getting the pains to tell her father, but she was stubborn and refused.

"Thanks. Call Tasha please, might as well tell her what's been going on." Ruby said, laying back down in her bed and getting more comfortable. It was still hurting her to move too much, so she planned on staying in bed for a while longer.

"Of course, Miss Matthews."

It didn't even ring once before the call was answered. _"Ruby, are you okay?" _Tasha asked her, not even bothering to say hello.

"Hello to you as well, Tasha. And yes, I am fine."

She heard Tasha let out a sigh of relief. _"Thank God. We were so worried when we found out."_

"Uh, how did you find out, exactly?" Ruby was wondering if it was from the press, or from someone else.

_"You mean you haven't seen the press pictures?" _Tasha asked her, a little surprised.

"Clearly not. That's how you found out then?"

_"No. We found out before the press even had the chance to print it. We are still keeping an eye on you, Ruby, you know that right?" _Tasha told her, just wanting to be honest with her.

"I know, Tash. At the moment I'm glad you guys are. At least I know there is someone out there who can control the press better than I can." She said, making Tasha laugh. "Seriously Tasha, I don't care that he is keeping tabs on me anymore. Means he will know the instant Tony does something stupid."

_"Still not on father daughter terms then?"_ Tasha asked her, sounding a little disappointed.

Ruby just let out a sigh. "No, we aren't. Come on, I hardly know the guy. So he is my biological father, big deal. We share the same DNA, but that doesn't make up for the past."

_"But it wasn't his fault, you know that."_

"I know, I've always known. But you have to understand, it doesn't instantly making him a father to me. I have never had a father, or anyone close to a father figure." Ruby told her. "The only male role model I ever had was Liam, and he is more a big brother than anything else."

_"So give him a chance to be the father you missed for 17 years." _Tasha said to her softly. _"Come on, Ruby, I know you're stubborn, but this is just silly."_

"Tasha…" She moaned, really not wanting to go into a conversation about her and Tony.

_"No, Ruby. Stop being a brat and start being a daughter." _Tasha told her firmly.

"Yes, ma'am." She mumbled, knowing that her friend was serious. "So when are you and Robin coming to see me? I'm out of the hospital now, and I'll be back to causing chaos in a few days according to Liam."

Tasha laughed down the phone. _"Soon, Ruby. I promise. We'll come and see you soon." _

"You better. Seems like the only way to get your attention is to end up in hospital." Ruby was starting to sulk a little. She may have had Liam there for her, but she had other friends that she wanted to see, mainly Tasha and her Robin Hood.

_"You know that is not true. We have both been busy here, Ruby. I should have some time coming up next month. We should be finished with this assignment by then. We'll sort something gout closer to the time. Okay?" _

"Yeah, okay. Just please come and see me soon, Tasha. Otherwise I might go crazy and do something stupid." Ruby told her, missing her friends and her old life.

_"Ruby, you do crazy and stupid things anyway. I'll get it sorted, okay? Now you just take it easy, and rest up."_ Tasha told her. _"No more getting rushed to hospital, understand?"_

"Yes ma'am." She grumbled once more. "Catch you later, Tasha." Ruby said, before the call was ended. She was desperate to see her friends, to just talk to anyone other than Tony. Although she had Liam there, she hadn't spent too much time talking to him, she hadn't had the chance.

Ruby closed her eyes as the pain in her side started to fade a little. The painkillers were finally kicking in, and if she was lucky, she was going to be able to sleep through the entire night. She was just glad to be out of that hospital and back to somewhere that she could feel at home.

When Tony came in to check on her, before going to bed himself for a few hours, he was pleased to see that she was fast asleep. Although he was not too impressed with her having not eaten since leaving the hospital. Certain that she was okay and sleeping peacefully, he left the room, letting out a sigh.

Come the morning, Ruby woke to the smell of pancakes wafting into her room. She had no idea what the time was, but the smell was making her stomach grumble. Because of how hungry she was, she didn't even bother to get washed and changed, she just threw the bed covers to one side and started to plod towards the kitchen.

"Morning, Ruby." Liam called to her as she walked in. "I hope you're hungry." He said, putting a plate stacked with pancakes down on the table.

"Starving. I could smell these all the way from my room." She told him, sitting down in front of the plate, ready to start tucking into them. She hadn't realised just how hungry she was until that moment.

"Good. At least my pancakes can still get you out of bed in the mornings." He told her, sitting down at the table with her. "Well, tuck in."

Ruby didn't hesitate, she grabbed her cutlery and started devouring the lot of them. She had always liked his pancakes, no one else's ever compared to them.

"Painkillers?" Liam asked her, getting up and going over to get her a glass of water. She nodded at him and he returned with the painkillers and a drink for her.

"Thanks." She mumbled, swallowing the pills and glugging down some of the water. "Where's Tony?"

"He went into work. There's a few things he needed to get sorted, but he said he should be back just after lunch time." Liam told her, smiling as she carried on eating.

"Anything been going on with the press?" She wondered. Ruby still wanted to see what they had said about her when she had ended up in hospital.

Liam shifted in his seat a little, giving Ruby a nervous look. "Maybe. Look's like someone may have finally worked out who you are." He told her.

There was a smirk on Ruby's face now. "Hey, JARVIS?" She called.

"Yes, Miss Matthews-Stark?" The British voice replied to her from, well, everywhere.

"Who's the clever little journalist that worked out the biggest mystery of the century?" She asked, the smirk still on her face.

"That would be Christine Everhart, from Vanity Fair, Miss Matthews-Stark." JARVIS replied to her.

"And what exactly did she say? I'm kind of curious to know what I've been missing."

"Ms Everhart refers to your mother and her relationship with Mr Stark. She then proceeds to go into the details of your mothers illness and death before discussing your sudden appearance with Mr Stark." JARVIS informed her. "She also commented on your 'stunt', as she called it, at the press conference. Ms Everhart believes that you are too young to have such responsibility in a company as Stark Industries and that the pressure from your father is what made you ill."

Ruby just snorted a little. "Oh, please. Tell you what, JARVIS, send her a lovely bouquet of flowers, along with a note." She said, a little plan forming in her mind.

"Oh no, I know that look. Ruby, don't." Liam warned her.

"Congratulate her on being the first to solve the mystery, that I am impressed with her detective skills. However, clearly she didn't do her homework into my 'illness' if she is blaming Tony for that." Ruby told him. She wasn't happy that someone was blaming Tony for her ending up in hospital.

"Of course, Miss Matthews-Stark. Will there be anything else?" JARVIS asked her.

"Nope, that's all. Thanks." Ruby said, a smile on her face.

Liam just shook his head at her. "You really are impossible, you know that right?"

"Yup, and you wouldn't want me any other way. Think how boring your life would be if it wasn't for me and my impossible ways." There was a hint of mischievousness in her eyes as she spoke.

"You mean how peaceful my life would be, right?" Liam asked her, doing his best to sound completely serious. "Since meeting you I have not had an ounce of peace, Ruby Matthews-Stark." He could stop the smirk from forming on his face as he used her new name.

"Oh, shut up, Liam. No matter what, you still love me." Ruby teased.

"Miss Matthews." SWAIN called, getting her attention. "I have 'the organ grinder' on the line. He wishes to speak with you urgently."

She let out a groan. "Tell him I'm too drugged up to talk to him right now. Maybe he could call again in a few weeks. Or maybe months. Or better still, never again."

"I highly suggest you take the call, Miss Matthews." She could tell he was being serious, and that was never a good thing.

"Yar!" She shouted, as the call connected in her ear. "How be my least favourite pirate?"

_"Another stunt like you pulled at the press conference and you will be straight back here. Is that understood, Miss Matthews-Stark?"_ A voice growled at her.

"Stunt? Seriously? You read Ms Everhart's article as well then, huh?" Ruby asked him, sensing he was in no mood for her jokes right now. "Honestly, I just wanted to get that press conference over and done with. I didn't almost die on purpose."

_"Your mother asked me to keep an eye on you, to make sure you stayed out of trouble. I doubt she would be happy if I let you die on my watch." _He told her, sticking with his serious tone. _"And it is always my watch." _

"Oh gee, well doesn't that make me feel special and loved." Ruby grumbled to him. "Anything else you want? I'm sure you have loads of pillaging to do and people to walk the plank."

_"Yes. Stop pestering my top two. They will get time off when I say so, not when you demand it."_

"Then you had better say so soon, you know how easy I can hack in and give them the time to come visit me." Ruby said, knowing she could do it in minutes.

She heard the man let out a sigh at the other end. _"I'll see what can be arranged. But until then, stop calling them and get on with your own life."_

"Yes, Captain Grumpypants. Whatever you say." Liam couldn't help but let out a small laugh. He loved it when she started to wind people up, and the person she was currently talking to was always the most fun.

_"And you can tell Mr Roberts that I will have his ass on a silver plate of he keeps encouraging you."_

This time Ruby laughed. "Liam, he said keep doing what your doing. I want to see him try to get your ass on a silver plate."

Liam just picked up apple from the bowl on the counter and threw it at her head. Lucky for Ruby, she was used to it and ducked in time. "Uh, he just threw an apple at me, which I think was actually meant for you." She said. "So how about I just kick his ass right now?"

_"Nice try, Miss Matthews-Stark."_ The man called. _"Stay out of trouble or I promise you, your backside will be back here before you can blink."_

"Oh, whatever. I have to go, my ride is here, we're going to rob a bank and blow up a factory. Just for fun, you know." She said, before having SWAIN end the call before he could say anything else.

Liam just shook his head at her once more. "See, totally impossible. Why are you always so hostile to the guy? He's only trying to do what he can for you."

"Okay, I'm not hostile, it's just a little bit of fun. And he annoys me so much. He thinks he bloody controls me, and he doesn't. I'm just showing him that I am my own boss." Ruby told him, sitting up straight and looking proud of herself.

"Uh, actually, I think you'll find that Tony Stark is the boss of you now." He said, getting up from where he was sitting and patting her on the head. "Nice try, kid."

Ruby's mouth dropped open. "Oh, you did not just call me 'kid', Liam Roberts." She said in slight disbelief.

"No, I did. Something wrong with your hearing now as well?" He asked, trying to hold back the new wave of laughter.

"Oh look, Murderess Ruby has come out to play. And she has a target, Liam Roberts." She said, jumping out of her chair and chasing after him.

"Ruby, no. Come on, you should be resting. This isn't going to help you." Liam shouted at her, trying to keep the table between the pair of them.

"I am not a kid. People need to stop calling me a kid all the time." She growled. Liam just frowned, he hadn't know that it was going to upset her so much, it had never bothered her in the slightest before.

"Hey, what's this all about Rubes?" He asked her softly, trying to figure it all out.

"I'm not a kid. I'm not 12, I'm 17. I looked after my mom while she was dying, I looked after the house, I worked 16 hours every day to make sure there was enough money to pay the bills. When I wasn't working I was at he hospital. I didn't eat, I didn't sleep, I didn't do anything for myself." Ruby shouted, making Liam just stare at her with wide eyes. "So stop calling me a kid. I'm not a kid." She said, before doubling over in pain.

Liam was quick to run around the table and get to her. "Oh, Rubes. I was only messing around, you know I didn't mean. I know that you're not a kid anymore, not with everything you have done and been through." He told her, putting an arm around her and trying to calm her down.

"You call me a kid, he treats me like a kid, the only one who seems to treat me like an actual person around here is Tony." Ruby told him quietly, holding onto her side as she tried to ignore the pain. "And he doesn't even know me. Which is probably the only reason why he doesn't see me as a kid. Since everyone who does know me thinks I'm a kid."

Liam was definitely worried, she was starting to ramble, and she only done that when she was struggling to cope. "Ruby, come on. You need to just stop this and calm down now."

"I'm fine, Liam." She said, trying to brush him off.

"Come off it, Rubes. You're not fine. You haven't been in a state like this for about 4 years now." He told her, remembering the last time she ended up so worked up after Tasha went missing. He knew that it was going to take a lot of effort to get her to calm down now, especially since the things she had said were true. He doubted that even Tony knew about most of it.

Liam would make sure he found out, even if it meant he had to tell him about it all himself.

* * *

**A/N: Now, I know a lot of people are wait for the movie to start, and I promise you it really is coming up soon. Only a few chapters left until we dive into it. **

**Many of you have been trying to work out who this 'Tasha' is. You'll find out soon enough. **

**Now, thank you to everyone who has favourited/followed, you guys are fantastic. And an even bigger thank you to everyone who has reviewed, you lot are just brilliant. I love reading your reviews and to know that people are enjoying this story. **

**So, remember to let me know what you thought of this chapter, be it in a review or by PM, I certainly do not mind. **

**Pippa.**


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N: And here is the next chapter. The movie is only 2 chapters away now!**

* * *

When Tony finally arrived home, Ruby was crashed out on the sofa and Liam was sitting with his laptop out, working away. "How's she been today?" Tony asked, sitting himself down on the couch next to Ruby.

"Well, murderess Ruby made an appearance." He said, closing down the lid of the laptop and looking at Tony. "I think everything is finally starting to catch up with her, you know, with her mom and everything."

"What happened?" Tony asked, looking down at his daughter who seemed to be peacefully asleep.

Liam let out a sigh and rubbed his chin. "I called her a kid, just as a joke like I usually do. She just snapped and lost it. When her mom went into hospital, she just started working on autopilot. It was all work, hospital, work, hospital." He explained. "That was her life. And I'm guessing she hasn't told you anything about it all yet?"

Tony shook his head at him. "Not a thing. She's avoided talking about Jasmine, and so have I, I guess."

"Maybe the pair of you should talk it through. I know what she went through, and she'd be better off telling you what happened before she has a complete breakdown." Liam told him, glancing over at the sleeping woman between them. "She needs to talk about it, unfortunately, that may involve her wanting to break things. She never was good with her temper, the whole time I've known her."

"Sounds like Jas really did have a hard time with her." Tony said, reaching out and gently stroking the hair on Ruby's head.

The man on the other side chuckled a little. "Oh yeah. She done a lot of stupid things when she was younger."

Tony just looked at him curiously. "Like what?" He asked, hoping there were going to be some more interesting stories that he could hold over her.

"Uh, she had a thing about fires and explosives. Almost burnt down the house about 12 times, I think it was. Almost blew it up 18 times." Liam told him, remembering back to all the times he had to help her hide that fact that she had started fires in her room, or blown something up in the garage.

"Yeah, I guessed she had a thing for explosions. She sort of mentioned it at one point." Tony told him, remembering when she wanted to blow up the tracking device.

"Oh, she was terrible. She blew up her car. On purpose."

Liam's words just made Tony's eyes grow wide. "She blew up her car? On purpose?" He asked in slight shock.

The man just nodded at him. "Oh yeah. She didn't like it. She tried really hard to do it up, get it to how she wanted it, but something always went wrong. She decided that the best way to solve the problem, was to blow it up."

"I'm going to have to remember that, and to not let her anywhere near my cars." Tony told him, smiling a little.

Liam let out a small laugh. "No, I think your cars are safe. From what I know, she's impressed with your collection. All I can see her doing is maybe taking one of them for a drive."

"Well, I've actually been working on something for her, or something we can do together. I know she's really attached to Maggie-May, her mothers car." Tony said to him.

"Yeah, she is. She always loved that car, but now it's all she really has left of her mom. Ruby doesn't think she's going to last much longer, and I'm not surprised with the way she drives her sometimes."

That time it was Tony who chucked. "Oh, I've seen her driving. Bit of a racer, isn't she?"

"Yeah, well she never got that from her mother." Liam said, giving Tony a look that said she got it from him.

"Okay, hands up, she probably got that from me. As well as the blowing things up thing." Tony said, raising his free hand in the air.

"Either of you ever hear of the term silence is golden?" Ruby mumbled, grasping the men's attention.

"No, can't say that I have." Tony commented as he watched his daughter stir and begin to wake. "How you been feeling today?"

Ruby forced herself to sit up on the couch and look at her father. "It's been painful, actually."

"She's only had one lot of painkillers today. Had plenty of pancakes for breakfast, and then slept through most of the afternoon." Liam called, opening up his laptop again, ready to crack on with his work.

"Well then, I guess it's time you had something more to eat and some more painkillers." Tony told her, giving her a soft smile. He was glad to see that she was getting a bit better, even though she was in pain. He was also glad to have Liam there to keep an eye on her as well. There was no way Tony would ever leave her alone, and he wouldn't drag her out with him either.

"In a bit, I've only just woken up." Ruby told him, rubbing her eyes a little. "Anyway, what have you been doing today?" She asked, looking over at Tony.

"Just taking care of some things at the office. Looks like the secret might be out about who you really are." He told her, wondering how she was going to react to the news.

"Yeah, I know. Some idiot from Vanity Fair. Did you read it?" She asked him, wondering what they had been talking about before she had woken up.

"Oh, I read it. JARVIS also told me what you done when you read it. I have to say, I totally approve of what you done." Tony told her, beaming away at her.

"I'm glad someone does." She muttered, glancing over at Liam who was doing his best to avoid her eyes. "So are you going to release an official statement to the worlds press since someone has worked it out?"

A smirk formed on Tony's face. "I already have." He told her, the large screen in the room suddenly turning on and showing a news report.

Ruby watched the screen as Tony Stark walked onto the stage, Pepper and Obadiah standing to the side. _"Many of you are still curious as to who Ruby Matthews-Stark really is. There have also been concerns over her health since the incident that occurred the last time you were all here. I can tell you now, that Ruby is absolutely fine and recovering from having her appendix removed." _The man told them all. _"And to answer your other question, yes. Ruby is the daughter of Jasmine Matthews, who sadly passed away recently. I can confirm that she is also my daughter."_

The moment he said that, the crowd started shouting out questions to him. _"Mr Stark! How do you feel about being a father?"_ Someone called through the noise.

_"I'm loving it. Ruby is a smart and interesting young woman who definitely has her mothers looks." _Tony replied, a grin on his face. He was feeling on top of the world, telling everyone that he had a daughter. It was a feeling he had never imagined before, but now he couldn't imagine not having that feeling.

_"How do you think having a daughter is going to impact your lifestyle, Mr Stark?"_ A blonde haired woman called from the crowd.

Tony chuckled a little. _"Who knows?" _He said, not really knowing what to tell them. Since having Ruby there with him, his lifestyle had changed a little. He wasn't going out drinking and partying, then returning home with a random woman. _"This whole thing is new for me, so I guess we're just going to have to wait and see how it goes." _

_"When is she going to be back at work?"_

_"Ruby needs to take it easy for a while. So she will be back at Stark Industries when she is ready."_ Tony told them.

The screen turned off and a smug grin was spread across Tony's face. "So, the world knows that you're my daughter. How do you feel about that?" He said, looking at Ruby.

She shrugged her shoulders at him. "Oh well, there goes my plan to annoy them by not answering their questions." Ruby told him. Truth was, she didn't really care that they knew, it was only going to be a matter of time before it came out.

"I'm sure you'll find another way, Ruby. Now come on, you need to eat something. What do you want?" Her father asked, getting up from where he was sitting and ready to get her whatever she wanted.

"I don't know, whatever you want to get." Ruby told him, pulling her phone out from her pocket. While she had been asleep, she had received three messages, two from her pirate friend, and one from Tasha.

She rolled her eyes as she read his ones, telling her that he was still watching her, and also that he was giving her friends some time off to come and visit. A smile crept onto her face as she read the message from Tasha, letting her know that they had to time off to come and see her and was asking if the weekend was going to be okay with her. Saturday was two days away, and she was pretty sure she would be able to sneak out if Tony wasn't willing to let her go.

"Uh, I was wondering if I could go meet some friends of mine on Saturday?" She asked, looking at Tony with pleading eyes. "I haven't seem them for a while, and they've managed to get the weekend off."

"Hmm, I don't know." He replied, not sure that he really wanted to let her out on her own. "Who are they?"

Ruby paused to think for a minute, she had to be careful of what she said. "Tasha and Robin."

Liam laughed a little, getting their attention. "You finally broke them down then, huh?" He asked, shutting his laptop once more.

"Do you know them, Liam?"

He nodded at Tony. "Yeah, they're okay. Both of them are pretty strict and helped to keep Ruby in line. Trust me, she'll be fine with them."

"Well then, I suppose I can let you out for a few hours. But I think Liam should go with you, you know, just in case." Tony told her, making her let out a groan. "Come on, Ruby. The press are going to be hounding you, you need someone with you."

Ruby could see that he was not going to back down from his decision. She was stuck with Liam when she went to see Tasha and Robin, not that she actually minded, since they all knew each other. Ruby was just worried that the three of them were going to gang up on her.

"Fine." She said, folding her arms across her chest and grumping a little. "If that's the only way I'm going to get out of here then I had better agree to it, hadn't I?"

Her father smirked at her. "Good choice. Now come on, you need to eat something. Any thing you want."

She didn't really know what she wanted. She still hadn't gotten her appetite back, even if she did wolf down a load of pancakes in the morning. "I don't know. Just order pizza or something." She said, knowing that she could get away with only eating a little.

"Any preference for toppings? Or shall I just get you anything since you're not going to eat most of it?" Tony asked her, having already worked out exactly what she was trying to do.

She let out a sigh, knowing he was probably ready to have a go at her for still not eating much. "Peperoni. And lots of it." Ruby told him, looking up at the ceiling.

"What you having, Liam?" Tony asked, pulling his phone out and getting ready to make his order.

"Anything with meat on it." He told him, glancing at Ruby out of the corner of his eye. She looked over at him, and he raised an eyebrow at her. She just gave him a look, wondering why he was looking at her like that.

"Well, I'm going to have a quick shower before pizza arrives." Ruby said, letting out a sigh as she pushed herself off the couch.

"I should probably go and call Val, let her know how things are going and check up on everything. Make sure she hasn't come across any of you explosives around the house." Liam said, giving her a very stern look.

She couldn't stop her eyes from rolling. "Seriously? You think I'd just leave it lying around? I'll have you know that all my explosive materials were removed by Tasha."

"Come on, Ruby, you know that's not true. I know you kept some hidden." He told her, walking out of the living area with her.

Once they were far enough away, Liam stopped her. "Okay, Liam, what do you want?" Ruby asked him.

"Talk you him, Ruby." He said, still giving her a firm look. "You need to tell him about what happened, about everything you had to deal with. You can't keep going on like this. You completely lost it earlier."

"I don't want to tell him, Liam, there is no need to tell him. What happened earlier was a one off, I was in a bit of a mood, that's all." She told him, really not liking the prospect of talking to Tony about her mother and what she had to deal with for months.

"If you don't tell him, then I will. Got that, Ruby? I'm not messing around, you need to get this sorted." The moment he said that, she knew he really was serious.

"Okay. I'll… I'll talk to him. Just… let me figure out what I'm going to say first. I'm kind of trying to forget all that happened, I don't think it's going to be easy bring it all up again." She told him, wondering how little she could get away with actually telling Tony and if Liam had told him anything already.

"In the next few days, Ruby. Before you go and meet Tasha. He really should know, in case you decide to have another little breakdown, but in front of him this time."

"Okay." She whispered. It was going to be tough, but she knew Liam was right. He was always right when it came to things like this. "I really need to shower. I kind of skipped out on it this morning because of your pancakes, and I've been in my pyjamas all day."

Liam couldn't help but chuckle. "Glad to know that my pancakes can still make you forget about everything else. Go on, you're starting to smell a little funky." He said, holding his nose and pretending to wave away the smell.

Ruby nudged him. "Shut up, Liam. If anyone stinks around here it's you. Go call Val, and tell her I said hi and that I will be sending you home soon." She told him, before darting into her room.

She wasn't impressed with the way that Liam was bullying her into talking to Tony, to tell him everything that she done while her mother was in hospital. In her opinion, it was none of his damn business what happened before she met him. It was her life, the life she had with her mother. A life that was now gone.

As she got in the shower, she decided to forget about it all. She didn't have to tell Tony anything right now, he was more concerned about if she was in pain or not. She was starting to realise that maybe he did deserve a chance, and that maybe she was being a bit too much of a brat to him, but she didn't want him to have it easy. After all, her mother never had it easy with her, so why should he?

"Ruby, pizza is here." Tony called to her over the intercom. Usually he just sent messages between JARVIS and SWAIN, so she was a little surprise when she heard his voice come through.

"Give me a few minutes. I'm just getting dressed." She called back, knowing that he would be able to hear her.

It was just a few minutes later that she returned to the living area, sweatpants and a t-shirt instead of her pyjamas. Her hair was still damp and pulled up into a messy bun. Tony couldn't help but smile at the fact that she had more colour in her cheeks.

"So, want to watch a movie?" Tony suggested, handing Ruby a pizza box.

She shrugged her shoulders at him. "Whatever, I don't care." She noticed that Liam wasn't there, and assumed that he was keeping himself hidden so that she could talk to her father.

He frowned at her. He was really trying to make an effort with her, to bond with her and get to know her better still, but she was insisting on pushing him away. "Okay, well I do." He told her, the large screen flicking on and showing the Disney logo. "Can't beat a bit of Disney."

Ruby just looked at him, not really sure what to make of it all. "If you say so." She mumbled, taking a small bite out of her first piece of pizza. Even though she wasn't really that interested in knowing what film it was, her eyes kept glancing upwards to the screen as the music started. "Mary Poppins?" She questioned, recognising it straight away. "You're watching Mary Poppins?"

Tony looked at her as if she was crazy. "And what's wrong with that? Classic movie. Every one should watch this as a kid." He told her. "Your mother and I used to watch it all the time."

"It was one of her favourite movies." Ruby mumbled. "I know, I used to watch it with her all the time, mainly on Sundays after dinner. We would sit down on the couch, a bowl of popcorn on the table, and huddle together to watch it."

"Yeah, we used to do that as well." Tony told her sadly. It made him think about how much he had missed. Instead of it being just Ruby and her mother, or Tony and Jasmine, it could have been all three of them, cuddled up on the couch and watching the dancing penguins.

"Mom was a bit Disney mad. I think we own every single Disney movie ever made." Ruby told him. She had been thinking the same thing as he had, only neither of them knew it.

"I take it you're mad on it as well?" Tony asked her, grabbing himself another slice of pizza.

She shook her head at him. "Nope. I love them all, don't get me wrong, but I'm not mad on them. Too many memories." She whispered the last part. If it was a movie she had watched with her mother, it was likely to get her thinking about her.

Tony's face fell when he realised that this could potentially upset his daughter. "Want me to turn it off? We can watch something else?" He asked her quickly.

"No, it's okay. We both know it was her favourite movie, I think she'd be pleased to see us both sitting down at watching it. Together, you know." Ruby told him nervously. She really wanted to make her mother proud, even if she was no longer there.

The pair of them sat there and watched the movie. At times Tony could hear Ruby singing the songs quietly to herself, not that he was going to point it out to her. He had never heard her singing before, but it seemed like she had Jasmines talent for that as well.

"I… uh, I had a bit of a melt down while you were out today." Ruby told him, breaking the silence as the movie ended. "I went a little psycho on Liam."

Tony just raised and eyebrow at her. "And by psycho you mean…?"

She let out a sigh. "Murderess Ruby decided to make an appearance. There's a lot of… stuff that has happened over the past year. I guess it all sort of finally got to me." Ruby admitted.

"You want to talk about it?" Her father asked, trying to be as calm and patient as he could. He knew that Liam had spoken to her, told her to fill him in on everything. He just hadn't expected her to do it so soon.

"When my mom was diagnosed, we both just carried on as normal, like nothing had happened. But after a while, she had to quit her job. It was just getting too stressful for her, what with all the hospital trips and everything, she just couldn't do it." Ruby told him, playing with her hands in her lap. "We didn't have much saved up, mom used to say 'what's the point in having money if we can't spend it?' I was never left wanting for anything. If I wanted something, she got it for me, not that I approved but that was just how she was."

Tony just sat there, nodding his head and listening to his daughter speak about what happened and her mother. It was heart breaking for him to know that they both went through all of this, that Jasmine was working even while she had been ill until she couldn't cope anymore. If he had been there, she wouldn't have been working at all, and she would have the best doctors in the world to take care of her. If he had been there, she would still have been alive.

"So I got a job. Nothing fancy, just some bar work to pay the bills and put some food on the table." She told him. "But that wasn't really enough. We needed more to pay for the hospital bills, so I got a second job, a night shift at a warehouse. I worked at the bar from six in the evening till two in the morning. I'd go home, get showed and changed, before getting to the warehouse for four in the morning. I would finish at noon, and head straight to the hospital. I'd stay with mom for as long as I could, but I'd have to leave by five to get washed and changed for work again."

Tony was actually sitting there in shock. His daughter had been working two jobs, getting no sleep, and looking after her mother at the same time. "How long did you manage to keep this up for?" He asked her softly.

"Uh, about eight months. I'd always have Sundays off, so that was when I managed to sleep and spend some more time with mom. It was hard, but Liam and Val were always looking out for me, so were a few of my other friends." She told him, thinking about how Liam had always forced her to eat something, Val making meals for her and making sure she took something to work with her. If it weren't for them, she really wouldn't have eaten at all.

The man beside her let out a sigh. "Ruby, I am so sorry you had to go through all of that." He didn't really know what else to say, he was still in complete shock of everything that she had done.

She just shrugged her shoulders. "Don't know why you're sorry, you had no idea any of this was going on. You didn't know I existed or that my mom was even sick."

"No, but maybe if your mother hadn't had been as stubborn as she was, things wouldn't have worked out the way that they have." Tony told her. Yes, Jasmine had always been stubborn, so had Tony, and Ruby took after both of them.

"It was her choice. I told her, more than once, to just tell me who my father was so that I could ask him for help. I mean, the worst that could of happened was that I was rejected." That was what she had feared the most when tracking her father in the first place, being rejected. "But she told me to leave it, that he had his own life."

"You know, I would have helped if I had known, Ruby. No matter what your mother told you, I would have been there for you, for both of you." Tony told her, reaching out for her hand and squeezing it tightly.

Ruby just looked up and him and gave him a small smile. "We both knew that she wasn't going to last much longer, she had held on for longer than the doctors said she would already. That was when she told me to find my father. She had left a letter in her room, she'd written it years ago in case something ever happened to her. She told me it would have everything I needed in it to find my father."

Now Tony was curious. "And what was in the letter?"

"A bunch of payslips from Stark Industries, letters addressed to her old home in LA. I just figured she wanted me to go to LA, check out Stark Industries and do a little poking around. She left me the clues, I just needed to be the detective and work it all out." Ruby told him, trying to keep her emotions in check.

"Well, you did work it out, and pretty damn quickly as well." Tony told her, letting himself smile. He was proud at her for how quickly she had managed to figure it all out, to get to LA, meet him and question him before confronting him at his home in Malibu. He was also pretty proud at the way she had kept herself hidden all that time while he was freaking out about where she was.

"It really wasn't that hard. Like I said, you just need to ask the right questions in the right place. I think that was Katie Lowes." She said, remember the report she was pretending to be at that time.

"Ruby, I know none of this has been easy, hell I don't know how you managed to cope with everything you have, I know I wouldn't have. To have done all of that, and to have made it through to the other side, well, that's rather impressive." He told her, trying to find the right words to express what he wanted to say. "But you're not on your own anymore. You're my family, Ruby, my only family, just like I'm your only family. Whatever happens from now on, we get through it together, okay?"

She nodded at him, still trying her best to stop herself form crying. She was overwhelmed by emotions and was ready to burst. "I just… I miss my mom. I miss her nagging at me, teasing me and trying to make my life hell. I miss her cooking, her hugs, I miss her comforting me when I have nightmares. I miss my mom so much." She said, before losing it and completely breaking down in tears.

Tony was quick to react, pulling his daughter close to him, holding her tightly and letting her cry it out. "Shush, it's okay, Ruby. Of course you miss her, she was your mom. You know, I miss her as well. I've missed her since the day she left. But you've still got me, and I'm not going anywhere, Ruby, okay? I'm here, honey, and I will always be here." He told her, kissing the hair on her head, rocking her slightly as he continued to hold her while she sobbed. "I can't make up for the past, I can't change what has happened, but the future is ours, honey, just the two of us."

* * *

**A/N: So, are Tony and Ruby finally getting that little bit closer? And her two mysterious (or not so mysterious) friends are going to be making an appearance. **

**Thank you to everyone who has favourtied/followed this story. It's nice to know that there are people out there who read my stories and enjoy them. And a big thank you to everyone who has reviewed. I do love reading your comments, and knowing what you think of the story, so keep them coming. **

**As already mentioned we are ever closer to the start of the movie now, and I know you are all eagerly waiting for it. I promise it is on its way!**

**Pippa.**


	14. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hey guys, here is the next chapter, and I promise the movie is coming soon. One more chapter to go after this. **

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"Have you taken your meds?" Tony asked, watching as Ruby gathered her things together.

"Yes."

"And you have your phone, right?" He didn't take his eye off her as she picked up her phone and waved it at him. "Do you need any money?"

Ruby finally let out a sigh. "Stop with the fussing already. You saw me take my meds this morning, and even if I didn't have my phone, SWAIN is always with me." She said, pointing to the bud in her ear. "And I do have my own money, oddly enough after my mother died, I got half of my savings released to me. I get the rest when I turn 18. Then another account when I'm 21." She told him. Before covering her mouth with her hand. Tony really didn't need to know that, she had just spilled a little too much information.

He eyes her suspiciously. "And where was this savings account when you were working yourself to death looking after your mother?" Tony asked her, frowning at her.

"I'm not in control of it, the only reason I got half was because mom put it in her will to let me have it. I can't touch it at all." She told him trying her best to cover up her little slip.

For a moment she didn't think Tony was going to accept it, but he nodded. "Okay, well I want to see this will. And as your father, I think I should be the one taking care of your money, don't you?"

Ruby groaned. "Fine. I'll contact the lawyers and get him to call you to sort it all out. Now, can I please go? Liam is waiting for me." She said, giving him her best puppy dog eyes and pout.

"Sure." He said, giving her his winning smile. "But if there is a whiff of trouble…"

"Call you and call Happy. Yes, I know. Look, you really need to stop worrying so much, Tony. I'm only going to meet some friends for coffee, and Liam is going to be there as well, like you wanted." She told him, really just wanting to get out of the mansion and have a little free time to do what she wanted. "And you know how well I can handle the press."

He gave his daughter a firm look. "I know, and that's what worries me. I want you back here no later than eight. Understood?"

"Sir, yes, sir." She said, trying to stay serious as she saluted him. "Now can I go?"

The smile returned to his face. "Go on, and behave. I don't want Liam coming back and telling me all the trouble that you have been causing. If he does, I might just have to rethink letting you out of your grounding." Tony warned her. He had decided that keeping her locked up in the mansion wasn't doing her much good, and that she really did need to get out. So he ungrounded her, just like she knew he would.

"I'll try to behave. But you know what? It's hard to do that when I'm hanging with Tasha and Robin." Ruby told him, a smirk on her face as they walked down to the garage. "Those two can be a really bad influence."

"If anything, I think it's you who's the bad influence." Tony told her, tossing a set of keys over to Liam. "Look after my girls, Mr Roberts. I want both of them home before eight."

There was a smile on Liam's face as he caught the keys, while standing next to one of Tony's Audi's. "Will do, Mr Stark. Come on then Ruby, we're going to be late."

"All right, I'm coming." She said, rolling her eyes before turning to face her father. "We'll see you later. And thanks, for letting me go out." Ruby was feeling a little awkward. After the moment they shared a few nights back, they had fallen straight back into how things were. They hadn't grown any closer, and she still wasn't calling him dad.

"No problem, Ruby. Now get going before I change my mind." Ruby didn't hesitate and charged over to the car that Liam was now in. He started up the engine and they whizzed out of the garage, leaving Tony standing there, alone in his mansion for the first time in a few weeks.

"Hey, JARVIS?" He called, heading over to his desk.

_"Yes, sir?" _Came the reply of the British AI.

"Have all the parts arrived yet?" Tony asked, looking through the list of things he had ordered before Ruby had ended up in hospital.

_"One of the main components is not yet here, sir. It is being specially made and they estimate delivery in 2 weeks."_

He let out a groan, he was hoping it would all be there by now so that they could get started with it. "Contact them, tell them if they can get it done and here within the next few days, I'll pay them double, or triple."

_"Of course, sir. Will there be anything else?"_ The AI asked him.

"Keep an update on Ruby with SWAIN. Just to, you know, make sure she is okay." It really was weird for him, not having her around. And she had only been gone for five minutes.

_"Yes, sir." _Tony nodded and headed back upstairs. There wasn't much he could do without everything there, so maybe he could do something else for his daughter instead. He needed to keep himself busy and distracted, or he might just follow Ruby, and he knew that she would not be happy with him if he did that.

While he was thinking of things to do for Ruby, she was sitting quietly in the car with Liam driving. "What you thinking there, Ruby?" Liam asked, noticing how quiet she was.

"Huh? Oh, nothing much." She said, looking back out of the window and watching the world pass by.

"Nothing much? I don't believe that for a second." Liam told her. He knew her better than that, and he knew something was up.

She let out a sigh before looking at him. "I let slip about the savings accounts today." She said, making Liam glance at her out of the corner of his eyes, while still focusing on the road ahead. "He wants to see the will and take control of the accounts until I'm old enough."

"And you really don't want him to do that, do you?"

She shook her head. "No. I'm going to have to talk to Tasha, see if she can sort something out. I don't want him to find out about my past, he wasn't around then so it doesn't really matter."

"Ruby, he's going to find out sooner or later, you do know that right?" She knew he was probably right, but she was going to try her hardest to keep it a secret, to keep the past where it belonged, in the past.

"Not right now, he isn't. Anyway, put your foot down, Liam. I know this car can go much faster, and we're late." They were running slightly behind, and she knew Tasha and Robin wouldn't really be that happy about it.

Liam rolled his eyes at her. "As you command." He said, before putting his foot down a little more and picking up speed.

A short while later, and they had arrived at their destination, a nice little coffee house that was pretty far out of the way. The moment Ruby stepped out of the car, she saw the two people she had been so desperate to see, sitting outside looking rather relaxed.

A smile spread across her face as she bolted over to the pair of them. As soon as the red haired woman saw her, she stood up, ready to greet her. "Tasha!" Ruby called, only stopping when she ran straight into the woman's arms.

"Hey, Ruby." Tasha said, chuckling a little at the way she had been pounced on.

"What am I, invisible?" The dirty blonde haired man standing next to her said with a frown on his face.

Tasha let her go and Ruby threw herself at him instead. "You wish you were, Robin Hood." She mumbled to him, holding onto him for dear life. It had been too long since she had last seen the pair, and she didn't know how long it was going to be till she saw them next after this. She was going to make the most of it.

"Ruby, try not to hug them to death." Liam called as he strolled over.

Reluctantly she let go of her other friend and turned to face Liam. "You're just jealous because I don't hug you like that."

He rolled his eyes at her. "No, Ruby, I'm really not." He said, before looking at Tasha. "Natasha, nice to see you when you're not on duty, for once." He said, giving her a brief hug. They knew each other, but they weren't as close as Ruby was with them all. They only knew each other because of Ruby.

"It makes a nice change, being here and seeing Ruby without being on assignment." She told him, giving him a slight smile.

Liam turned to see that Ruby had finally let the man go. "Clint, good to see you as well." He said, before they both shook hands tightly.

"You too, Liam. I take it you've had your hands full keeping this one out of trouble?" He asked.

"Oi, I do not keep getting into trouble, Robin. Well, not anymore." Ruby protested to the man.

He just smirked at her. "Yes, you do. And stop calling me Robin Hood all the time. That is not my name."

Ruby just stood there, the expression on her face unreadable. "Yes it is. Did you not know? I changed your name. Hawkeye is now Robin Hood. You can check the SHIELD database if you want."

Natasha let out a groan. "Ruby, please tell me you haven't been hacking into SHIELD. Again."

"What?" She asked, pretending to be innocent. "I had to if I wanted to see you guys. All the pestering Nicky worked, didn't it? You're here, aren't you?" She had a valid point there. If she hadn't kept pushing, who knows how long it would have taken for Fury to finally give them the time to go and see her.

"One day, Fury is going to have your ass back on base. And he will keep you there." Clint, or Robin, warned her.

Ruby simply rolled her eyes as she sat down at the table. "I know, he's already given me hell for what happened at the press conference." She told them. "Seriously, it was not my fault. I didn't plan on it happening, it just did and he thinks I done it on purpose, called it a little stunt."

The trio chuckled at her at they all sat down with her. "And how are you doing now?" Natasha asked her, a slight hint of concern in her voice.

Ruby shrugged. "I'm okay. Still in pain and can't really do too much, but at least Tony is letting me out. Except I have to be chaperoned." She nodded to Liam. "I'm just glad it was Liam and not his bodyguard or something."

"You getting along with daddy?" Clint asked her, teasing her a little.

"I suppose. Oh, but I need you guys to do me a favour. I let slip about the money. He wants to see the will and take control of the accounts. You guys mind getting that sorted for me? I very much doubt Captain grumpy pants will be too happy to hear from me again any time soon."

Once again the trio laughed. "Sure, I'll get that sorted for you, Ruby." Natasha told her, making a mental note of it. "Anything else you need from us?"

"A good kick up the backside, perhaps?" Clint suggested. Ever since meeting the teen, when she was younger, he had always threatened to keep her in line. The only problem was, she had him wrapped around her little finger, and he always caved in. Both Natasha and Clint saw her as their annoying little sister, but they wouldn't want it any other way.

"You're so funny, Robin." She said, glaring at him. "No, that was the only thing."

Natasha's face quickly turned serious. "Ruby, are you sure everything is okay?" She knew her better than most people, and she was very good at reading people as well. She could just tell that there was something else bothering her.

Ruby just looked at the three people sitting there with her. They knew her too well to believe her when she said everything was totally and utterly fine. "I just fell so… lost." She told them, her voice almost a whisper. "I know Tony is my father and that he is trying his best and everything, but my life is just so different now. I'm having trouble adjusting to it."

"That's understandable, it's a big thing that's happened." Clint told her, knowing that she was struggling. "And I know everyone has already said it, but I'll say it again. It's going to take time, Ruby, but it will get better."

She let out a sigh, yes people had been saying that, and yes she was sick of hearing it. "Can't I just come back with you guys? It would keep Nicky happy, knowing he had the power to keep me locked up and out of sight."

"Ruby." Natasha hissed. "None of us want you back on the base and locked up. You know that. You're not the little kid you were when we first met you. You've grown up and do not need keeping on a leash." She told her firmly. "We are looking out for you, as friends. Not because we have to, because it's our mission or assignment, but because we want to. You're our friend, Ruby, we want to protect you."

"I know. Sorry." She whispered, hanging her head a little. She should have known better than to say something like that in front of Tasha.

"Just remember, Ruby, the three of us sitting here right now, we all just want to look after you. Tony Stark my be your father, but you're still part of our family as well." Natasha told her, resting her hand on her arm.

Ruby smirked at her. "A family of assassins, spies, and a… doctor." She said, before shaking her head. "Nope, sorry, Liam. You got to change professions. Being a doctor just doesn't cut it in this family." Everyone broke out in laughter, including Ruby. But she soon stopped when he side began to hurt a little.

"You wouldn't be a very good assassin or spy at the moment, Red Cobra." Liam told her. "Not the state you're in."

She let out a groan. "Okay, who told him?"

Straight away Natasha glared at Clint. There was no way it was her who had given away what Ruby's codename was. "What?" The man said, trying to feign innocence. "Why are you all looking at me like that?"

Ruby's glare hardened. "Just be glad that I'm not on top form, Robin Hood. Otherwise I would seriously take you down right now."

"Allow me the pleasure of doing that for you when we get back to base." Natasha said, clearly not happy with Clint either for what he had done.

"Oh, come on. He was bound to find out sooner or later." He tried to protest.

"That is in my past, Barton." Ruby hissed at him. "A past that we all know I am trying to forget. Call me that again, and I swear to God I will not leave you alive."

He put his hands up in surrender. Clint knew that she did not make empty threats, and he knew that he had crossed the line. "Okay, that was wrong of me. I'm sorry, okay? Now, can we get back to enjoying the rest of the day? I thought you wanted to see us, not fight with us?"

Slowly her scowl faded and was replaced with a smile. She had scared him, and gotten him to apologies, and that was good enough for her. Not many people could even scare him, let alone get him to admit that he was wrong and to say that he was sorry. She really did have him wrapped around her finger.

A few hours later, they were sitting on the beach, having moved their from the coffee house some time ago. "So, what's it really like living in Malibu?" Natasha asked her as that looked out over the ocean.

"It's okay, I suppose. A little scary living in a mansion that is pretty much hanging onto a cliff." She said, making both Natasha and Clint chuckle slightly. "But I guess it isn't too bad. We're close enough to Stark Industries, but out from the city. The press leave us alone when we are at home, not that I've really had much of a chance to get out unless I'm with Tony."

"And how are things really going with him?" Clint asked her.

"Not too bad. It's… difficult. I'm living with a man who I hardly even know apart from what I've read up about him. I know he has been trying to make an effort, but apparently I'm being a little brat." She said, glancing over at Natasha. The red haired woman just looked back at her, a very hard look on her face.

"You're keeping your defences up." Clint said, ignoring the looks that the two ladies were sharing. "It's natural. But sooner or later, you're going to have to take them down. He isn't out to hurt you, he's just trying to do what he thinks is right. You got to remember that this is all new to him as well, Ruby."

"I know. But it's hard. It was always just mom and me, but now…" Her head was starting to reel. She was glad she was able to talk to her friends, to be honest with them about how she was, but she already knew everything that they were going to say. And it would all be true as well.

Clint just looked over and smiled at her a little. "Now you have a father. Give him a chance, Ruby. Break down those walls, one at a time. Find something you can both do together that isn't working for his company."

"Yeah, okay." She whispered. What she really missed, more than anything, was some female company. That was why she had been so desperate to see Tasha, to have another girl around to talk to.

Natasha tilted her head as she looked at Ruby. She was pretty sure she could see her eyes glazing over with tears. "Ruby, what else is it?" She asked her softly.

"I miss having female company, someone to go shopping with, and stuff. I don't have that anymore." She admitted. That had been bothering her so much, that there wasn't another woman around for her to talk to.

Liam frowned at her. "What about Pepper?" He asked, sounding slightly confused.

"She hasn't been around much. And beside, she works for Tony."

"Well, maybe you could try to talk Tony into letting you spend a little time with her. Shadow her, tell him you want to find out more about how the company works. She pretty much runs it anyway." Liam told her, knowing that he was right. Pepper didn't pretty much run the company most of the time, he had seen it for himself while he had been there.

"Liam Roberts, we might make an agent out of you yet." Clint said, before he started laughing.

His laughter was cut short when Natasha's phone started ringing. "Romanoff." She said, going straight into agent mode. "When?" She asked the other person. "We're on our way." Natasha said, before ending the call.

"Work?" Ruby said, feeling a little deflated. She had enjoyed spending time with them both, but now it was over. She knew they were going to have to go back to work now, and she didn't know when she was going to see them again.

Natasha nodded at her. "Director Fury needs us back at base now." She said, glancing over to Clint. "But he also said that if you behave and keep out of trouble, we can do this again."

Ruby just looked at her, not really believe a word she said. "Of course he did. And a flying pig brought me some bacon this morning. It's fine, you two have serious work to get back it."

"And we should be heading back as well, Ruby." Liam told her, realising the time. "I have to get you back by eight, or Tony will kill me."

The four of them said their goodbyes, and the two agents promised to see Ruby again soon. They knew that she needed some support, that she needed people to be there for her, but with their line of work, that was always difficult.

"And you promise not to get into trouble just so that you can see us?" Natasha said, giving her one last hug.

"I promise, Tasha. Keep in touch, okay? Don't make me hack into SHIELD some more." Ruby said, letting the woman go.

"Come on, Ruby, time to go." Liam said. Reluctantly she waved goodbye to her friends and made her way back to the car with Liam. "You okay?" He asked her, as they buckled up in the car.

She nodded at him, before letting her gaze fall on the scene outside of the window. She knew that it was going to be months before she saw either of them again, and she really could do with some female company more often. So she thought about what Liam had said, about trying to make friends with Pepper Potts. It wasn't that bad of an idea, and it could actually work. That was going to be her next goal, to try to get along with Pepper.

She was still in a world of her own when they arrived back at the mansion. Ruby didn't even noticed that Liam had gotten out of the car and left her sitting there on her own.

"Hey, everything okay, honey?" Tony asked, opening the door and startling her a little.

She quickly pulled herself together. "Uh, yeah, fine. Sorry. We're not late are we?"

He shook his head at her. "Nope, you had ten minutes to spare. You sure everything is okay?" He asked her once more. Tony was worried, she was in her own little world, and he didn't like that.

"Yeah, I just realised how much I missed my friends today, that's all. They ended up getting called back into work, so they had to go." She told him, finally unbuckling the seatbelt and getting out of the car.

"Well, next time they're free, you can bring them round here. Be nice to meet some more of your friends." Tony told her, walking up the stairs from the garage with her.

Ruby knew that she couldn't bring them there, she couldn't let Tony know who they really were. "Uh, yeah. That… that sounds good." She said, a little nervously. "I, uh, I think I'm gonna head to bed. It's been a long day, and I'm tired."

Tony frowned at her. He was hoping to at least spend a little time with her before she went to bed. "When was the last time you had something to eat?" He asked her, trying to find a reason to keep her with him for a little while longer.

"A few hours ago. Liam made sure I had something to eat while we were out." Ruby told him.

He nodded, glad that Liam was looking out for her. "And what about your meds? Don't you need to be taking them as well?"

She let out a sigh. "Yeah, I guess I do."

"Come on then. Take your meds, watch a bit of TV and then you can go to bed." He said, trying his hardest to keep a happy smile on his face.

"Okay." She whispered, following him to the living area. He disappeared into the kitchen and returned a few moments later with a glass of water and her tables. "Thanks." She mumbled to him, before throwing the tables down her throat and washing it away with the water.

"So, did you have a good time today?" He asked, sitting down beside her and trying to make conversation.

"Yeah, it was nice to see them. Catch up on what had been happening. They travel a lot for work, so they get to tell me about all the places they have been." She told him, tossing her head back and staring at the ceiling.

"Sounds interesting."

"It is. They get to go to so many places. Farthest I've been is, well, here." She told him. "I spent all my life in Denver." She lied. Of course she had been to other places, she had been to quite a few places, but he didn't need to know about that.

That gave Tony a brilliant idea. "So, if you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?" He asked, taking her slightly by surprise.

She shrugged a little. "I don't know. Anywhere new, really. I'd love to go to the mountains, to see all that snow everywhere." That was one thing she really loved, snow. She didn't care how cold it was, she thought it was beautiful.

"You've never been skiing then?" Tony asked her, resulting in her shaking her head. "Well then, maybe we should take a little break. I've got a place up in the mountains, some nice skiing spots up there."

Ruby suddenly turned her head and looked at him. "Really? We… we could just go there and…"

He nodded, smiling at the excitement he could see in her eyes, even though she was trying her best to hide it. "Sure we can. We can take the jet there whenever we want. I can get you the best skiing instructor in the world. You'll be hitting the slopes like a pro in no time." Tony told her, beaming away.

"I… uh, I'd like that. To go to the mountains. No so sure on the skiing thing though. Isn't that a little dangerous?" Ruby had a secret here, she had never been skiing before in her life, but she certainly knew how to snowboard.

"True, but like I said, best instructor in the world. And just for you. How does that sound then, Ruby?" He was eager to do something for her, to get to spend time with her and do something together.

She smiled at him, remembering what Tasha, Robin, and Liam had all said to her. "That sounds really good. I'd love it."

Tony's smile just grew wider. "Well then, I'll get that sorted then. Once you're completely better, we'll do it. Just us, okay?"

Ruby raised and eyebrow at him. "Just us? No Pepper? No Happy?" She asked him, knowing that one, if not both, of them would be joining.

But to her surprise, he shook his head. "Nope, just us."

"Okay, just us." She said. Ruby didn't know why, but she suddenly felt extremely happy, happier than she had in a very long time. She was going to do something with her father, just the two of them, no work, no distractions, just them, up in the mountains. And she couldn't wait for it.

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**A/N: Yeah, a lot of you knew exactly who Tasha, Robin and this pirate 'organ grinder' was. Well done to you guys!**

**I hope you all liked this chapter, and I swear to you, the movie is coming. We just have one more chapter with some Tony/Ruby father/daughter time to go, then we can crack on with it. **

**Moving on, thank you to everyone who has favourtied/followed, I'm glad you guys like the story. And a massive thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review, it really means a lot to me, especially with this story. **

**Pippa.**


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N: There is a poll on my profile regarding to which 2 of my stories you would want me to continue the most. Come September I will be back at uni and very busy. So please go and vote so I know which ones to work hard on right now.**

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Ruby was exhausted as she threw herself on the couch, forgetting all about her suitcases and just wanting to crash out instead. She had now officially been a Stark for two months, and during that time she had done her best not to be the brat that Natasha kept telling her she was.

"Uh, what do you think you're doing?" Tony asked her, frowning at the way she was just lying there.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" She asked, not moving or even thinking about moving. "I'm taking a break."

"A break? You've hardly done anything." He protested, plonking himself down on the sofa next to where her feet where. "You've just been sitting on a plane, sleeping."

Ruby let out a groan. "Fine. What do you want me to do?" She didn't really want to do anything, she was aching all over from their week up in the mountains, skiing. Tony had insisted on it the moment Liam had given her the all clear before going home, and she took him up on the offer. There were a few accidents, but nothing major. Then she scared the hell out of him by just disappearing one morning and heading out to do some snowboarding instead.

"You both need to start packing for Vegas." Pepper called, entering the room with her tablet in her head, looking at the schedule.

"When do we leave?" Tony asked, as Ruby let out yet another groan.

"Two days. And then you have the weapons demo in Afghanistan." Pepper reminded him, now making him groan. He had enjoyed the week away with his daughter, and he was hoping they could finally start work on the little surprise he had for her. But they just didn't seem to have the time.

"You still up for come to the weapons demo, Ruby?" He asked, looking over at his daughter. He was at least going to try to spend time with her, even if he was working. Plus, he thought it was a good idea for her to see exactly what it was he done.

At first, Ruby had been a little worried about going with him, and had ended up calling Fury to ask him what he thought. He was just as surprised as she was when she made the call, but assured her that they would keep an eye on her and that it would be fine for her to go. "Watching stuff blow up? Hell yes."

"Great. Well you better get packing then. If you're good, I might even let you go shopping before we go." He told her, hoping that would at least perk her up a little.

And it did. "Can Pepper take me? Please?" She still wanted to spend some more time with the woman, and she needed female company.

Pepper just gave her a sad look. "Ruby, I am really busy. There is so much that needs to be done before…"

"Please?" She said, turning on the puppy dog eyes that used to get her everything she wanted with her mother. "I've missed you for a whole week, please Pepper." She knew the eyes worked on Tony, and Liam. Now she was testing them out on Pepper.

The woman stood there and let out a sigh. She knew she was stuck now, there was no way she could refuse her when she used those eyes on her. "Okay, but we need to leave now."

Ruby wasted no time in jumping off the couch, now seemingly full of energy where she had been so exhausted beforehand. "Brilliant. See you later, Tony." She called, dragging Pepper out of the room.

"Ruby, is everything okay?" The red head asked her as she started up the engine of her car.

"Yup, fine. Why wouldn't it be?" Ruby said, putting on a big smile for the woman.

Pepper, however, was having none of it. She could see just how much like Tony she was, and how she was trying to hide her feelings. "You don't have to go with him to the weapons demo if you don't want to, you know. You can stay here with me."

She shook her head at her. "No, I want to go. I want to pay more attention to what he does, how he works. I know his work is his life, and I… I just want to be a part of that."

"Ruby, you don't have to go to Afghanistan to be a part of his life. You know that, don't you? Why do you think he just took you off to the mountains for a week, without giving me more than an hours notice?" Pepper asked her, keeping her eyes on the road. She knew it wasn't exactly a nice place, and she would much rather keep her safe in Malibu than let her go out there with her father.

Ruby couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Because he's Tony Stark, it just comes naturally to him to do things spontaneously."

"From what I heard, you have a bit of that in you as well." Pepper told her, causing her to smirk.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, auntie Pepper." The smirk stayed firmly on her face as se called her 'auntie'. She may not be able to call Tony dad yet, but she was finding it amusing to see how he, and other people reacted when she said things like that. Every time she had seen Rhodey, she called him 'uncle'.

She heard Pepper let out a sigh. "Snowboarding without telling anyone? With no one else out there with you? With Tony having no idea where you were?" Pepper said, keeping her voice firm as she prepared herself to tell Ruby exactly what trouble she had caused. "Tony was frantic. He was calling me, getting both JARVIS and SWAIN to track you. He went outside, hardly even bothering to get dressed from what he told me, just to go looking for you. He thought something terrible had happened, Ruby."

Ruby knew that maybe she had done things the wrong way, that maybe she should have at least told Tony what she was up to. But the moment she woke up and saw the snow outside, she just had to go for it. "I really am sorry, auntie Pepper. I didn't mean to cause the problems that I did." She told her honestly.

"At least you can apologies, unlike a certain Stark we both know." She had told Ruby what she needed to, and she had gotten the reaction that she had wanted as well. Ruby was sorry for how she had acted, and unlike her father, she had taken responsibility and said sorry.

"Well, you can thank my mother for that, she was determined to make sure I had plenty of manners. And I can admit when I'm wrong." Ruby told her, knowing that her mother would have really shouted at her if she had done something like that to her.

Pepper just smiled as she carried on the drive. "But apart from that, how are you and Tony getting along? You've been here for 2 months now."

There was a shrugging from the woman with the dark, curly hair. "Okay, I guess. It's still weird for me, it's a whole new life and I can't say it has been easy to adjust." Ruby told her. "Tony and I still have a long way to go."

"I can tell, you're still calling him Tony." Pepper hinted. "And yet, I've somehow been promoted to being your aunt."

"Hey, you should be honoured, I've never had an aunt before, you're the first. I mean, come on, who wouldn't want to be my aunt?" Pepper couldn't help but laugh at her words. She really did have the same spunk that Tony had. "I'm brilliant."

The red head shook her head slightly, still doing her best to focus on the road ahead of her. "No, you're just the daughter of Tony Stark, I think that makes you more impossible than anything else."

Ruby put a hand to her chest, pretending to be hurt. "Oh, well that hurt."

Pepper chuckled some more, and they carried on making their way to one of Pepper's favourite places to shop. Ruby hadn't really done much shopping since before her mother had died, unless it was for food and other necessities. It didn't really help that most of her stuff was still back in Denver, even though Liam had brought some things with him when he had come to visit after her little 'stunt'.

Since then, the only new clothes she had gotten, she hadn't even been there to buy them. Tony had gotten Pepper to make sure Ruby had some suitable clothing to wear to go to work. The young lady had not been happy, as she really hated wearing dresses and skirts, but she had no choice in the matter.

"So, where do you want to go first?" Pepper asked her, looking around at the different shops. She wouldn't mind actually shopping for herself as well.

Ruby looked down at her feet. If she was honest, she needed new Converses. "Uh, that depends on how much I have to spend. I don't want to go in shops and be disappointed when I can't afford something I really, really want." Tony now had control of the savings accounts, rather than Directory Fury, who had not been best pleased with the situation.

"Well, since you're father is Tony Stark, and he has more money than he knows what to do with, I think it's safe to say that you can afford whatever you want." Pepper told her, watching as Ruby's face changed from thinking with a frown, to utter shock.

She didn't really know what to say. "What, he's letting me go shopping with his money, and no spending limit?" She asked, getting a nod from Pepper. "Oh, that can't be a good thing."

That just made Pepper frown. "Why?"

"Because now, I'm going to go a little out of control and shop until I can't carry anything else." Ruby told her, a grin on her face. Knowing that she could spend whatever she wanted, she was likely to buy much more than she needed.

"Oh well, that doesn't matter. So come on, where to first?" Pepper asked her, keeping a smile firmly fixed on her face.

"Converse, and boots. I need new boots. And, uh, I guess I had better get something suitable for this awards thing in Vegas as well." Ruby was slightly nervous about that, it was the first big event that she was going to, with her father.

"I'll help you pick some things out, so don't worry about that too much. Now, come on, we have lots of shopping to do." Pepper said, taking a hold of her arm and dragging Ruby towards the first shoe shop like they were two best friends out for the day.

On their last trip to the car, they realised that they had no more room to fit anything else, and much to Ruby's disappointment the shopping trip was called to a close. Ruby had managed to get rather a lot for herself, she brought much more than she had intended. But she had secretly managed to get something for other people as well, a pleasant surprise.

"Seriously, shopping takes almost 6 hours?" Tony asked, hands on his hips as he watched Ruby struggle to carry her stuff through the doors and into the mansion.

Ruby just shrugged at him, or tried to at least. "That's what happens when you give me no spending limit. I go overboard and buy way more than I could ever need." She told him, dropping the bags and turning around.

"Uh, where are you going?" Her father asked her, curious as to why she was heading back outside.

She just looked at him as if he was stupid. "To get the rest, obviously."

His mouth dropped open. "You mean there's more?" He asked her, his shock showing. Ruby just nodded at him, before going back to Pepper's car and grabbing some more of the bags. She hadn't noticed that Tony had followed behind her. "Geeze, how much did you buy?" He asked, eyeing the hoards of bags still to be taken inside. "And how did you fit it all in the car?"

"Like I said, this is what happens when I have no spending limit. I'm used to having a limit on money, remember, but I went overboard, and I know I did." Ruby admitted. "And Pepper and I both managed to arrange it and fit everything in. We actually have organisational skills."

"Did you get everything that you wanted?" Tony asked her, surprising her by starting to grab some of the bags himself.

"Uh, yeah. Pepper helped me to pick out some things for the awards ceremony. Oh, and she tried to convince me not to go with you for the weapons demo." Ruby said, ending up with said woman sending her a glare as she carried on getting the bags out of the car.

"And what did you say to that?" Yes, he was curious to know her answer.

Ruby shrugged as she finished loading herself up with bags. "That I wouldn't miss the chance to watch you blow up a mountain for anything."

He chuckled a little. "That's my girl. Now take that lot inside, I'll grab the rest." Tony said, before watching her go. He waiting until she was completely out of sight before looking to Pepper. "How was she?"

"Well, excited and nervous. She needed a lot of encouragement to start actually buying things, she didn't want to spend all your money or buy things she didn't need." Pepper told him, going through the bags and putting a few back in the car. Of course, she had bought a few things for herself as well. "And she was very nervous about what to get for the awards. I helped her out with that."

"Thank you, Miss Potts." He said, smiling at her. He didn't know what he would do without Pepper there to help him. He knew that she was becoming a good friend to Ruby, and his daughter needed another woman around.

"Will there be anything else, Mr Stark?" She asked, finally having gotten all of Ruby's things out and closing the doors of her car.

Tony simply smiled at her. "That will be all, Miss Potts." She nodded at him, before getting into her car and driving away. He picked up the rest of the bags, taking them inside and planning on making sure Ruby showed him everything that she had bought.

He didn't really care how much she spent, he had missed a lot of her life, and although it wouldn't make up for him not being there, it was better than nothing. Tony was determined to make sure that she was happy, and that she wanted for nothing. That was why he had so much planned for her, so much he wanted to do with her. He wanted to be the best father he could, proving that he wasn't like his own father. Tony was going to do everything he could for his daughter, he would be everything his own father wasn't.

He frowned when he got inside and saw that Ruby and all her shopping was missing. "JARVIS, where's Ruby?" He called.

"She is currently on her room, sir. She appears to be in the middle of a call." JARVIS replied to him. Tony decided to leave her to it, she was probably on the phone to either Liam or Tasha.

The truth of it was, Ruby was on the phone to Fury. "So, everything is all okay? There aren't any problems?" There was a hint of concern in Ruby's voice as she spoke.

_"Everything is set. Romanoff and Barton will be watching, at a distance. If anything happens, they will get you and Stark out of there."_ Fury told her, knowing that she was worrying.

"And they know this? They're okay with it? I mean, they're kind of on babysitting duty doing that, aren't they?"

Fury let out a sigh. _"You know they are my best agents, I have other missions I could be sending them on, but I think we all know where they would rather be. This isn't babysitting, Miss Matthews-Stark, they are protecting their own."_

"Okay, right. Sorry. I'm just a tad nervous, you know." Ruby admitted to him.

_"Understandable, but there is nothing for you to be worried about. We know where you are going, and there will be eyes on you and Stark at all times."_

"Right, yeah, that's good. Okay, I'll go now. I have packing to do and stuff. Catch you later, pirate." She called, before ending the call. No matter how excited she was about watching Tony blow things up, she was still nervous about where she was going. She had been there before, and she knew some of the things that happened there.

Ruby quickly had to shake her head, getting the thoughts and memories out of her mind. She was not going to go back there, she was not going to relive what had happened before. "Miss Matthews-Stark, your father wishes to know what you would like for dinner." JARVIS called to her.

Straight away her mind was blank. "Uh, telling him I don't mind, but not pizza. I'm sick of pizza all the time. Actually, I'm sick of take out all the time." She grumbled. It was all they seemed to be eating recently, apart from the times they ate out during their trip to the mountains.

_"So you want to go out then?"_ Tony called, having clearly been listening in to her speaking with JARVIS.

"No, I want you to learn to cook." Ruby retorted. "I'm sure you can afford a few private cooking lessons from the worlds top chefs."

_"Well, yes, I could. But why would I do that when I can have other people cook for me?" _Ruby couldn't help but roll her eyes at his remark. _"And don't roll your eyes at me." _

"I can teach you how to cook of you want." Ruby blurted out, before her brain had actually had time to process it.

_"Okay then. Come and show me how to cook."_ That was not the reaction she had been expecting from him. She had been expecting to hear him laughing at her, not to accept her offer and for her to start teaching him right now.

"Let me get changed, and I'll teach you how to cook something." Ruby called back, before heading into the bathroom.

She had really enjoyed her time out shopping with Pepper, she had been so nice to her and really helped her in finding something for Vegas. For the awards, Ruby had settled for a light purple evening gown, which Pepper told her made her look much older than she was. Ruby was pleased with that, but Pepper was a little more anxious about it. She was worried about her grabbing too much unwanted attention and how Tony would react to it all.

About 10 minutes later, she was strolling to the kitchen to meet Tony, to give him his very first cooking lesson. "Right, let's see what we have to work with, shall we?" She called, heading straight over to the fridge and pulling it open. "Well, that's helpful." She moaned, frowning at the empty fridge.

"Uh, yeah…" Tony said nervously. "I guess I need to send out for some shopping."

Ruby just rolled her eyes at him. "Looks like it will be take out tonight after all." She said, clearly not impressed with how there was nothing edible to eat in there.

"Great, it should be here soon. I got Chinese." Ruby turned her head sharply and glared at him. "Yeah, I ordered when I realised there was nothing here to eat."

Ruby folded her arms across her chest, holding her glare. "And yet you still made me come in here and think you actually wanted me to teach you to cook."

Tony held up his hands in defence. "Right, okay. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before you walked all the way from your room and into the kitchen. I know how tough of a trip that is."

"Nice effort. Your learning, but I could do without the sarcasm." She told him, the glare on her face slowly turning into a smirk.

"Yeah, well I have to learn when you took on your mothers glare. Like I said, it used to give me nightmares." Tony told her, taking a step towards her. "Now give your old man a hug."

"I don't think so. But you got one thing right in that sentence." She said, taking a step back and making him confused. "You are an old man." She told him, trying not to crack up laughing.

"Oh, you are so grounded, missy. Old, am I?" He said, taking a tentative step towards her. He had found out that she hated being tickled, and he had managed to find the best spot while they had been away.

"Definitely. I mean, you have to be, what, 60, 61?" She asked, knowing what she was doing. "And what's this? Another grey hair?" Ruby said, pointing at his head.

"Really? This is how you want to play it, huh?" No, he was certainly not impressed, but he was pleased to see that she was comfortable with teasing him.

"Playing? Oh, no. I'm not playing, old man. I'm just telling you the truth. You might want to put some hair dye on the shopping list, you know, to take care of those lovely grey hairs." Ruby was currently planning her escape, and she had it all mapped out in her head. She knew what his reaction was going to be, but she had more training than he knew.

"Okay, that's it." He called, going straight for her. But that was exactly what Ruby had expected, and she had ducked down and crawled under the table.

"See? You're old, grey, and slow." Ruby told him, smirking away as she stood by the door.

"How… how the hell did you move so quickly?" Tony asked her, just looking at her and trying to work it all out in his head. He was sure he was going to get her, but she had moved so swiftly and with ease, he didn't even know she was gone until it was too late.

She just shrugged at him. "I didn't, like I said, you're just too slow."

Tony was about to reply when JARVIS jumped in. "Sir, the food has arrived."

"You, young lady, are not going to get away with this." Tony said, wagging a finger at her.

The smirk just didn't fade from her face. "I do believe I already have. Now hurry up, I'm hungry." She said, before stalking out of the room.

Tony was left standing there, not knowing what had happened or how his daughter had managed to move like she had, but he couldn't help smile when he thought about how well they were getting along.

As Ruby waited for her father to sort out the food, she ran through what had happened in her mind and cursed herself for it. She knew she shouldn't have done that, used the skills that she was taught as if it was a game, because it really wasn't. If Tony knew the true extent to her 'training', he would completely flip and then start asking even more questions. Ruby didn't need that, and what with the trip to Afghanistan coming up, she knew she had be more careful than ever.

"Come on the, eat up. Then you can pack and go straight to bed." Tony told her, putting down the containers of food. "Your part punishment for the things you thought were acceptable to say to me and for thinking you could get away with it."

"Oh, I am so scared. Look at me, I'm shaking. Sending me to my room where I have SWAIN, and JARVIS, oh and a lovely ocean view, along with all my electronics. Yeah, complete punishment." Ruby said, grabbing a box and tucking into her food. She knew that he was never likely to do much to punish her, she had already proven that she could outwit him and get him to unground her.

"I said it before, I'll say it again. How your mother coped, I have no idea." Tony told her, really trying to work it out. 2 months and he was having problems keep her under control.

Ruby's face faltered for only a second. "Like I said before, most of the time she didn't. I think you're doing okay… ish. You've only had to call Liam in to rescue you once so far." She said, now teasing him a little. Liam hadn't really come to rescue him, Tony was managing pretty well with her on his own, even with the problems.

Tony only rolled his eyes at her, he knew there was no point in carrying on, he was never going to win against her. Usually he would make sure it was him who had the last word, but Ruby always seemed one step ahead of him and had something ready. "Ruby, eat your dinner and then go do your packing. We have a lot to do before we leave."

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**A/N: Well guys, I hope you've enjoyed it so far. We are now about to start the movie, and I admit, I have a lot planned for it. I'm still trying to work some of it out in my head, but don't worry, I'll get there.**

**Now, I would really, really love for all you wonderful people to review. This is my first Iron Man ****fic, so I'm still a little cautious with it. **

**I want to thank those who have favourited/followed the story, Im' glad you like it. And, as always, I want to thank those who have taken the time to review. Thank you so much. **

**So, as I mentioned, the movie is coming up, which means a trip to Vegas. How badly wrong can that go with two Starks, right?**

**Pippa. **


	16. Chapter 15

**A/N: The poll is still on my profile regarding to which 2 of my stories you would want me to continue the most. Come September I will be back at uni and very busy. So please go and vote so I know which ones to work hard on right now.**

* * *

Ruby was standing at the craps table, Tony beside her as she threw the dice. Her first stay in Vegas was going rather well, and Tony was keen to let her play anything she wanted, even if it was illegal. He didn't care, he was Tony Stark and his daughter was happy.

"You seem to be pretty good at this whole gambling thing." Tony told her, taking another swig of his scotch. "Are you sure your mother never let you sneak off to the casinos or something?"

Ruby scoffed. "As if. She hated letting me go out in case I caused trouble." She told him, trying to keep her attention on the table before her.

"And did you?" They had been getting on so well now, and she was always so relaxed around him now. But there was one thing that was still bothering him.

She looked up at him and smiled. "Of course I did. As she reminded me on so many occasions, I take after my father." Her comment made him chuckle, but still brought the issues that she never called him 'dad' even further to the surface.

They both heard someone coughing behind them and turned to see Rhodey standing there. "Oh no. Did they rope you into this?" Tony asked him, looking at his best friend.

"Nobody roped me into anything. But they told me that if I presented you with an award, you'd be deeply honoured." He replied, a frown on his face.

"Of course I'd be deeply honoured. And it's you, that's great. So when do we do it?" Tony asked, missing the nervous look on Ruby's face.

"It's right here." Rhodey said, holing up the award that Tony was meant to have collected. That was the whole reason they were in Vegas. "Here you go."

"I'm really sorry, uncle Rhodey. It's my fault." Ruby said, giving him her most innocent look. "I got distracted while we were on our way, and he wouldn't leave me. Honestly, it's my fault, please don't blame him."

Rhodey let out a sigh as he looked at her. He had seen her do that trick on Tony so many times now, he never thought he would suffer it as well. "Yeah, it's okay." He said.

"Please don't be mad, uncle Rhodey. I really am sorry." Ruby said again, making sure to keep her innocent, puppy dog eyes in place.

"Yeah, it's fine, Ruby. Forget it." It was clear that James Rhodes was still annoyed. "What are you doing even letting her play, Tony?"

The man just shrugged his shoulders as kept his eyes on his daughter. "Why not? I've been with her the whole time. She's been doing rather well. Gave her a limit of fifty thousand, and she's already tripled it. She's got a gift."

"No, I've just got a really good poker face." She said, rolling the dice and winning yet again. "Okay, so maybe I do have a little bit of luck on my side tonight."

Rhodey just rolled his eyes. He knew there was no talking to Tony, and Ruby was just as bad at the moment. He had hardly seen her all evening, the first time being when Tony walked into the casino with her on his arm, grabbing everyone's attention. The moment he saw her, he thought it was Jasmine.

She was wearing a lilac evening gown, which shimmered every time she moved. Her hair was flowing down her back, the curls bouncing around on her shoulders. She really did look a sight, and so much like her mother.

"This is where I exit." Rhodey told them, shaking himself out of his thoughts and bringing himself crashing down to the real world. He looked at Ruby and saw she was pouting at him. "Give it up, Ruby. I've forgiven you and Tony already, you're not getting anything else."

"Fine." She grumbled to him.

The man smiled at her before looking up at her father. "Tomorrow, don't be late."

"Yeah, you can count on it." Tony said, trying to pull his daughter away from the table. Rhodey was warning them to go home now, otherwise he would totally give them hell in the morning on the plane.

"I'm serious." Rhodey said, just to make sure that he really did understand that he needed to be on time in the morning.

"I know, I know." He said, finally managing to get Ruby to move with him. "Ruby, come on, we can come back another time."

"You promise?" She said, now looking at him and turning on the puppy eyes.

Tony just rolled his own eyes at her. "Yes, I promise. Now move, SWAIN will give me hell if I don't get you home soon."

"Uh, SWAIN? No, I think you mean Miss Potts. She would give you hell if she knew you had let me gamble, and drink." Ruby told him a smirk on her face. She really had been able to get away with whatever she had wanted for the past two days. Not that she had really been trying to get away with things, she just wanted to test Tony, see how far he would go. Turns out, he would go pretty far if it put a smile on her face.

"Yes, and Miss Potts. Now come on." He said, tugging at her arm once more as Happy and the rest of the security team led them out to the waiting car. "Why do you still have that? I have loads of those." Tony asked her, noticing that she was still holding onto his award that Rhodey had put down on the table.

"Because you were meant to keep it. I think Rhodey would be a little more ticked off if he knew you didn't even care about the award." She told him, as Happy opened the door.

"Mr Stark!" The pair heard a woman call, making Ruby roll her eyes. "Excuse me, Mr Stark, Ms Stark. Christine Everhart, Vanity Fair magazine. Can I ask you a couple of questions?" The woman called to them.

Ruby was the first to turn and look over her father's shoulder and at the blonde haired woman. "Oh yay, the woman who thought I was pulling a stunt at the conference." She whispered to Tony.

Tony looked down at her. "Really? You're sure?" Ruby nodded at her, before letting a grin take over his face. He quickly turned, taking Ruby with him. "Hi."

"Hello!" Ruby added, waving a little and smiling as they walked a little closer to the woman as security let her go.

"Hi." The blonde haired woman replied, putting on her best smile for the man standing before her.

"Yeah, okay, go." Tony said, making sure Ruby was still holding onto his arm. He wanted to see what the woman had to say, and how Ruby was going to deal with her.

"You've been called the da Vinci of our time. What do you say to that?" Christine asked, making Ruby snort a little.

"Absolutely ridiculous. I don't paint." He said, trying not to laugh at the way Ruby was acting. He had tried to keep her away from the press, because he had found out, rather quickly, that she liked to give them hell and was really a little too good at twisting their words.

Christine just frowned at him, he wasn't taking her seriously and she didn't like that. "And what do you say to your other nickname, 'The Merchant of Death'?"

Tony actually seemed impressed. "That's not bad… eh, honey?" He said, looking to Ruby and grinning. All she could do was grin back at him. "Let me guess. Berkeley?" He asked, trying to guess where she had studied.

"Brown, actually."

"Well, Ms Brown. It's an imperfect world, but it's the only one we've got. I guarantee you, the day weapons are no longer needed to keep the peace, I'll start making bricks and beams for baby hospitals." Tony told her smugly.

"And what about you, Ms Stark?" She asked, looking to Ruby. "You're part of Stark Industries now."

Ruby's grin just grew wider, if that was even possible. "Ms Everhart, firstly I would like to correct you on my name. Miss Matthews-Stark, not Ms Stark. You managed to get it right when you claimed that my appendix almost bursting was down to stressed caused by my father." The woman's face dropped, clearly she had not expected something like that to come from the young woman's mouth. "I would also like to point out, that I have no dealings in the weapons department of Stark Industries. My father and I both have our own departments, our own projects."

"So you're saying that you don't care?" Christine retorted.

That was a big mistake on her behalf. "Stark Industries has been dealing with weapons since before I was even born, since before my mother and father were even born. What I am saying, Ms Everhart, is that I do not deal with the weapons of Stark Industries, or any other company. I have my own interests which are part of the company." Ruby told her, her tone full of spite. She really disliked the woman, and she was going to make her life hell if she carried on the way she was.

To say that the woman was stunned was an understatement. Tony was smirking away, trying to contain his laughter. He hadn't thought Ruby would be so harsh with the woman, but it was very entertaining. "You find this discussion amusing, Mr Stark?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Mildly. My daughter is very entertaining when she wants to be."

"All I want is a serious answer." Christine told him, trying to pull herself together from the attack she received from the young female Stark.

"Okay, here's serious." Tony said, actually straightening himself up to look serious. "My old man had a philosophy, 'Peace means having a bigger stick than the other guy'."

"That's a great line coming from the guy selling the sticks." Christine replied sharply. She was starting to fall into a foul mood. The woman hadn't anticipated that it would be so difficult to talk to the pair.

But Tony wasn't ready to give up yet, his daughter had given a show, and now it was his turn. "My father helped defeat the Nazis. He worked on the Manhattan Project. A lot of people, including your professors at Brown, would call that being a hero."

Christine Everhart stood tall and firm. No, she was not going to let them intimidate her. "And a lot of people would also call that war profiteering."

Now Tony had really had enough with the woman. He quickly took off his shades and took a step forward, taking Ruby with him. "Tell me, do you plan to report on the millions we've saved by advancing medical technology or kept from starvation with out intelli-crops? All those breakthroughs, military funding." There was now a smug grin on his face.

"You ever lose an hour of sleep your whole life?" She spat back at him.

"All the time, I am a father after all. My daughter comes first." He told her, before turning away from the woman and ready to head back to the car.

"Ms Everhart, next time I suggest that you do your homework more accurately." Ruby told the woman, stopping Tony from pulling her to the car. "That is, if there is a next time. Now, if you shall excuse us, I was promised some quality time with my father." And with that Ruby turned away, tugging at Tony's arm and leading him to the car. "Well, that was fun." She whispered to him, as Happy opened the door for them once again.

"What am I going to do with you, Ruby?" Tony asked, shaking his head as she got in the car. "Oh, I know, I should never let you anywhere near the press, ever again."

Ruby couldn't help but smirk some more. "Hey, I was going easy on her. She deserved so much more than what I gave her."

"Happy, let's go." He said, looking at the man in the mirror before turning to Ruby. "How about a quick movie when we get home? Anything you want."

"You do know it's already really late, and going to be even later by the time we get there. Even if we are taking the jet." Ruby reminded him, resting her head against her hand as she looked out of the window.

"So, is that a no then?" Tony asked, pretty confident that she was going to say no.

"Have you done all your packing?" She wondered, not even bothering to look at him. She already knew the answer.

"Uh, no."

"Well then, you have packing to do and I need to get some sleep. Plus, I need to check in with Liam, you know, to make sure he isn't going to worry too much about where we're going." Liam had been very against her going, his view on it was so strong that he was threatening to drag her backside back to Denver until it was all over. Then Ruby told him she had Tasha and Robin looking out for her, and he relaxed a little.

"He still bugging you over that?" Tony asked her. Of course, Liam had called him as well, demanding that Tony didn't take her. He was a little surprised at how demanding he had been, but realised that it was because he was protective of her still. And still, no matter how much he assured him that Ruby would be safe, he still wasn't convinced.

"Please, he isn't going to stop bugging me until we get back and I let him know. It's a nightmare." She moaned.

"So, how about after the demo, me and you take the jet somewhere for a few days?" Tony suggested, knowing that it would annoy Liam and that his daughter would love it.

Ruby smirked at him. "Where do you have in mind?" She asked him, clearly thinking the same thing that Tony was.

"Well, we could stop off in Italy, they have a few nice slopes there. Go to the south of France, I might even take you to London, let you do a little bit of shopping." He told her, grinning away at her as they made their way to the airfield where the jet was ready and waiting to take them back to Malibu.

"No spending limit?" She asked, hoping that that was the case. If it was, she knew what her answer would be.

He shook his head at her. "No spending limit. You can but whatever you want. And hey, when we get back, I might even buy you a new car."

Ruby glared at him. "No, I don't want a new car. A new car will give me a reason to give up Maggie-May. So no, no new car." She told Tony firmly. She really was still attached to her mother's car, and even if it was old, she really didn't want to get rid of her.

Tony held his hands up in defence, looking at his daughter beside him in the back seat of the Rolls Royce that they were currently in. "Okay, calm down. I thought it was a nice gesture. What would you rather have me do?" He asked her, knowing exactly what he had already done, waiting for them when they got home.

Ruby let out a sigh, knowing that Tony was just trying to do something nice for her. "Sorry. It's just… that car means a lot to me. And the thought of having to send her to for scrap, well, it upsets me. She's one of the best memories that I have of my mom, I kind of want to keep it that way."

Tony just reached out, taking a hold of her hand and giving it a light squeeze. "Hey, it's okay. Maybe we can figure something out, I'm sure there is something we can do to save her."

His daughter scoffed at him. "I doubt that. The amount of work that needs doing to her, well, it would cost and take a lot of time." She said, looking at the confused expression on Tony's face. "No one touches Maggie-May but me. That means that no one else does any work on her but me. That way, if something is wrong, I only have myself to blame."

Tony just grinned at her. He liked the way she thought, plus it helped that he already had a plan. "Fair enough. But surely you can afford the parts and do it yourself?" He suggested, knowing full well what he was doing.

Ruby let out a sigh. "I can't afford them all. I can afford some with the money mom left me, but not everything. I am not going to do it, unless I am going to do it right."

There was a forced sad smile on Tony's face now, not that Ruby really noticed as she was too busy looking out of the window still. "Well, maybe I can help you get the parts. But only if you behave and don't do something that I have to ground you for."

She let out a huff of annoyance. "Well, we both know that is never going to happen. Don't give me false hope, Mr Stark, that's just cruel." Ruby told him.

"Oh, you must be annoyed, you're calling me 'Mr Stark' now." Tony commented, trying so hard not to laugh.

"Shut it, Stark." Ruby warned him, glaring at him at the same time. No, she definitely wasn't in the mood for him to be joking about her mother's car. And that only proved to him how important that car was, and how he had made the right choice with what he had planned.

"Please, don't glare at me like that. Seriously, Ruby, I am begging you not to do that. It gives me the shivers and just reminds me of your mother." Tony told her, trying to shake off the feeling that he had just given him by looking at him like that.

"Don't talk about my mother's car than." She told him, still giving him the glare, just a little more fierce than before.

They spent the rest of the drive in silence. Ruby annoyed that Tony had even suggested getting her a new car, while Tony was trying to think of the right thing to say. He had never meant to upset her by offering to buy her a new car, he just wanted to test how much the Audi that she currently had meant to her. It turns out, it meant more to her than he could ever imagine, which actually made him smile.

When they were on Tony's private jet, flying back to Malibu, he noticed that Ruby seemed to be shaking a little. "Don't tell me you're scared of flying?" He asked her, wondering what was wrong with her.

"No." She replied, making sure to glare at him. "I am not scared of flying. I'm just nervous about tomorrow." Ruby admitted. "It's my first 'official' outing with you, I guess. I don't want to screw up of make you look more of an idiot than you already are."

"Hey, come on, you're not going to screw up. What happened before was not your fault, well not totally." Tony said, earning yet another glare. "Listen to me, Ruby, there is nothing you can do that will screw it up, or make me look like an idiot, okay? I'm already an idiot." She didn't answer him, she didn't even look at him. "Ruby, honey, everything is going to be fine. Your awesome uncle Rhodey is going to be there. What could possibly go wrong?"

Ruby almost groaned at his final words, knowing that they would curse their trip. Whenever some asked what could go wrong, something usually did go wrong. She had worked that out years ago, when a mission wet wrong and a few people ended up in a lot of trouble, and a deadly situation. It never ended well when someone said that.

"The last time someone said that, everything went completely wrong." She moaned to him, making him chuckle a little.

"Yeah, but that someone wasn't the brilliant Tony Stark." He said, trying to make her smile, but failing totally with it.

"No, but it was someone who really should have known better." She grumbled, thinking back to that time when her Robin Hood had pretty much jinxed the entire mission. She quickly shook her head, trying to shake away the memories that she really didn't want to be remembering. That was her past life, that wasn't her life now.

The pair of them pretty much stayed silent for the rest of the long journey home. Ruby was too busy trying not to worry and to focus on something other than Afghanistan and all the things that could go wrong. Sure, she had Natasha and Clint looking out for her, but if something went wrong and they had to intervene, Ruby would be pretty screwed. There was a lot she wasn't telling her father, a lot that she never told her mother either.

Soon enough, they were pulling up to the mansion, and Ruby just couldn't wait to lay down on her bed and pass out. "Welcome home, sir, miss." JARVIS called to them both as they walked in.

"Is everything set up in he workshop, JARVIS?" Tony asking, taking off his jacket and tossing it onto the couch.

"Yes, sir. Everything is all ready."

"Hey, where do you think you're going, missy?" Tony called, noticing Ruby trying to slip off to her room already.

She stopped and turned to face him. "Bed. I'm tired and it's going to be a long day tomorrow. All I want to do is go and crash out until it's time to leave." Ruby told him. She really did just want her bed now, she hadn't realised before how exhausted she was really feeling until now.

"Ah, in a bit. I've got a surprise for you first, so come on." He said, taking a hold of her arm and dragging her down to the workshop. Ruby wasn't impressed by the way he was pulling her around, and it took a lit for her not to pull away and hit him for it.

The glass door to the workshop opened, and Ruby just frowned. "Okay, so what's this great surprise that just couldn't wait?" She asked him, looking at the mass of boxes scattered all over the place. Most of them had been opened, but she still couldn't see what was in them.

"Remember what we were talking about earlier?" Tony asked her, but just getting a shrug as a response. He rolled his eyes at her. "About Maggie-May?"

"Uh, yeah, what about it?" Ruby could admit that she was confused now.

Tong just gave her a huge grin. "Well, all the parts you need are here." He told her, wondering what she was going to say. Except Ruby stayed silent. "I had a look a few months back, ordered all the parts that needed replacing or updating. I know how much that car means to you, so I was thinking that we can work on her together. What do you think?"

He stood there, looking at her, ready and waiting for her answer. But once again she didn't say anything, she just walked over to one of the brown cardboard boxes and started rummaging through it. After going through about eight or nine boxes, she finally looked to Tony. "Why?" Is all she said to him.

He couldn't stop himself from frowning at her. "Well, I just… I thought it would be a nice thing to do, and something that we could work on together. I mean, if you don't want to, then that's fine." Tony said, holding his hands up in defence in front of him.

"There's a lot that needs to be done." Ruby told him, going back to hunting through the boxes. "It's going to take weeks, if not months, to get it all done." She stopped, looked at her father, and grinned. "So I guess we better get started then."

Tony Stark stood there, slightly shocked. He had not been able to read his daughter, to see what she was thinking of feeling. At one point he was sure she was going to tell him where to stick it, but instead, she wanted to get started on the car straight away. "Now? I thought you wanted to go to bed? I thought you were tired?"

She shrugged at him. "I can sleep on the plane. So, are we doing this?"

"Get changed." He said, looking down at the expensive and stunning dress she was still wearing. "No working in dresses." He warned her.

"Uh, yeah. Okay, probably a good idea." Ruby mumbled, only just noticing the dress she was still in. She had just been a little too excited when she found out what Tony had done, and she just wanted to get started with it now. "Give me five minutes, do not start anything until I get back." She warned him, heading towards the glass door to making her way back upstairs and to her room.

"I'm sorry, who's the parent here?" Tony asked her, his eyebrows raised as he looked at her.

There was a grin on Ruby's face still. "You haven't passed yet, I'm still training you up." She called to him, before bolting it up the stairs and to her room.

* * *

**A/N: And so the first Iron Man movie has officially started! Will Ruby actually go to the weapons Demo? Will she make it out again if she does? How is this who thing going to affect her and her relationship with Tony?**

**Guess you're just going to have to wait and find out. **

**Thank you to everyone who has followed/favourited the story. I know I say it a lot, but it does mean the world to me to know people are reading. And obviously a massive thank you to everyone who reviews. It's because of you guys I continued to write.**

**Pippa. **


	17. Chapter 16

**A/N: The poll is still on my profile regarding to which 2 of my stories you would want me to continue the most. Come September I will be back at uni and very busy. So please go and vote so I know which ones to work hard on right now.**

* * *

"Ruby?" Tony called, trying to get his daughters attention. "Ruby!"

Her head suddenly shot up. "Huh? What? What you shouting for?" She replied, rubbing her face and her eyes a little.

He chuckled at her a little. "How's it all looking down there?"

"Uh, not bad." Ruby told him, brushing some of her hair that had managed to work its way out of the ponytail away from her face. "What about at your end?"

"Looking perfect. Won't be long till we get Maggie-May back on the road and looking like new. You thought about the paintwork yet?" He asked, picking up a rag and wiping his hands on it.

"I'm just used to her being silver. If she was anything else, she wouldn't be Maggie-May anymore."

"Well, you know there is always another option." He told her, getting up from where he was and walking to the spot where she had been working. They had been working non stop, and he knew that Ruby was more than a little tired now. "You could always keep her silver, but just add your own little colour into it."

She frowned at him, clearly thinking about his suggestion. "Yeah, maybe that could work. Hey, JARVIS, run a few different designs, and make sure they are silver and purple."

"Of course, Miss Matthews-Stark. Will there be anything else?" The British voice called.

"Nope, that's all. Thanks." Ruby said, before standing up properly and stretching out her back. Her eye caught something through the glass doors. "Uh, best puppy dog pout, we're in trouble." She whispered, noticing the woman coming down the stairs.

Straight away, Tony knew what she was talking about. "Get back to work, Ruby." He said, a smirk on his face.

Ruby ducked her head back down, pretending to be working, just as the music turned off and the glass door opened.

"Please don't turn down my music." Tony called to the woman who had just entered the room.

"You and Ruby are suppose to be halfway around the world right now." Pepper told him, ending the call she had been on and getting her work all together and ready to sort through with Tony.

"Why are you trying to hustle me out of here?" Tony asked, pretending to be interested in what he was doing with the car still.

Pepper let out a long sigh. "Your flight was scheduled to leave an hour and a half ago."

"That's funny, I thought with it being my plane and all, that I would just wait for us to get there." He retorted, nudging Ruby who was trying to hold in her giggles.

"Tony, I need to speak to you about a couple of things before I get you, and your daughter who is not doing a very good job at hiding, out of the door." Pepper called, looking over directly to where Ruby was leaning over.

"I'm not hiding. I'm working." She called back to the woman, still not showing her face.

Tony couldn't help but smirk. His daughter really was a good troublemaker. "Doesn't it kind of defeat the whole purpose of having your own plane if it departs before you arrive?"

Pepper decided to just ignore him. "Larry called. He's got another buyer for the Jackson Pollock in the wings. Do you want it? Yes or no?" She asked, looking down at the list she had to get through.

"Is it a good representation of his spring period?"

Ruby snorted. "God, you're a idiot for a genius. The Springs isn't the season, it's the neighbourhood in East Hampton where the dude lived and worked." Tony just nudged her with his leg, wanting her to shut up and stop looking smarter than he was. "And it's seriously overpriced."

Tony just rolled his eyes. "I need it. Buy it. Store it."

"Okay. The MIT commencement speech…"

"Is in June." Tony moaned. "Please don't harangue me about stuff that's way, way down…"

"They're haranguing me, so I'm gonna say yes." Pepper said, doing the one thing that Tony hated the most, interrupting him.

"Deflect it and absorb it. Don't transmit it back to me."

"I need you to sign this before you get on the plane." She said, holding a pen and an open folder towards him, waiting for him to sign it.

"What are you trying to get rid of us for? What, you got plans?" Tony asked as he took the pen and signed the papers.

"Of course, auntie Pepper has plans." Ruby called, finally showing her face. "It is her birthday after all. Happy birthday, I hope you liked your present."

Pepper looked over at her, shaking her head but with a smile on her face. Ruby was covered in dirt, grease and oil, and she didn't even know it. "I did, Ruby. Thank you."

Tony just looked from his daughter and to his PA. "What did you get her? How did you know that it was her birthday?"

"I got her a new watch that she liked. And I knew because I actually asked." Ruby told him smugly. She knew she had one up on her father with Pepper now, because she knew it was her birthday and he didn't.

He rolled his eyes at her. "Yeah, Ruby, you got a little something, just… right here." He said, making sure to smudge the grease across her face a little more before turning back to Pepper. "Get yourself something nice from me."

It was Pepper's turn to look smug now. "I already did." She had gotten it when she had been out shopping with Ruby, and she didn't need that much convincing to get it either.

"And?"

"It was very nice." Pepper knew that he would never have remembered in the first place.

"Yeah?"

"Very tasteful. Thank you, Mr Stark." There was a small smile on Pepper's face now.

"You're welcome, Miss Potts." He said, before turning to his daughter once more. "You, uh, might want to go and shower first, Ruby. I mean, just look at that." He took hold of the rag he had been using to wipe his own hands on and started wiping at her face with it.

"No, get off!" She shouted, trying to push his hands away. "Stop it, you're just going to make it even worse!" Ruby cried, snatching the rag from his hand and throwing it to one side.

Tony just carried on laughing at her. "No, wait, there's still a little bit, right… here." He said, using his thumb to smudge some more across her cheek.

Ruby just glared at him, seriously not impressed with what he was doing to her. "I recommend you go shower as well. And hey, did you ever even finish your packing?" She knew for a fact that he hadn't.

The pair of them had spent all night working on the car, taking it apart and starting to put her back together again with the new parts that he had gotten. They had been so immersed in it, that neither of them had really bothered with the time.

"My packing is done, thank you very much." He said, smearing her face with his hand now.

"Yeah, only because you had Pepper do it for you." She said, giving him a small glare. Sometimes she didn't like how much he made Pepper do for him. "I hope you have a good day, auntie Pepper. I'd give you a hug, but I'm covered in grease."

"It's fine, Ruby. Are you sure you won't change your mind? You can stay here with me, you can come out with me tonight." And she was still trying to convince her not to go to Afghanistan.

Ruby just smiled at her. "I'm sure, we can go out when we get back. Anywhere you want, you're boss can pay. Claim it as expenses, or childcare. Either is fine with me." She told her. "Anyway, need to get clean. Bye Pepper."

Tony couldn't help but chuckle a little. "That's my little grease monkey." He said, watching her head over to the glass doors.

"I heard that!" Ruby shouted across the room to him.

The two that had been left in the room stayed silent until they were sure she was gone. "Tony, I really don't think you should be taking her. Seriously, she's just a kid, she shouldn't be going there and watching that weapons demo." Pepper's tone was harsh, and Tony had been expecting it.

"Ruby made up her own mind. She wanted to go, I'm not forcing her. If she wants to take an interest, then I am not going to stop her. One day, the company is going to be hers, so she may as well get used to it now." He told her, picking up the rag that Ruby had thrown.

"So you're going to force the company onto her? You know the only reason she is doing this is to spend time with you, to be a part of your life." She had remembered that from the conversation she had had with Ruby out on their shopping trip, and it was the thing that had bothered her the most.

"What, and she said that, did she?" Tony asked, not exactly sure that he believed his daughter would have said that. As far as he was concerned, they had been spending time together. Hell, they had even been up all night working on her mother's old car together.

"Yes, she did. She said that your work is your life, and she wants to be a part of that." The look on her face just made Tony know she was telling the truth. "I tried to tell her that she didn't need to go with you for that to happen, but she wouldn't listen."

Tony let out a sigh. "As stubborn as her mother." He feared the day he would learn just how stubborn she really was. It was bad enough that he could be stubborn, but throwing her mother's into the mix as well, it was going to be a nightmare. "I'll talk to her. See if she really does want to go. But if she does, I'm not going to stop her."

Pepper nodded at him. "Okay. Good. But Ruby was right, you really do need to shower as well before you leave. Happy will be behind you with the luggage. I assume you will be driving with Ruby in your car?"

"Yeah, Maggie-May isn't quite ready to rock and roll just yet." Tony said, looking over at the car. He couldn't wait to get back and start working on it again with Ruby. He had enjoyed it so much, and he had been able to watch her working. She really was a hard worker, her mind set with determination. "Shower, then talk to Ruby. Got it." He said, before bounding up the stairs himself and into his own room.

About half an hour later, and Tony was ready. He knew he didn't have any more time to waste, and that Pepper would get seriously mad at him if they were any later. He strolled down to Ruby's room, and knocked on the door. "Hey, Ruby? You ready?"

A few seconds later, the door was yanked open and Ruby stood there in her cargo pants and a tank top. "Yeah, I'm ready. This suitable enough for you for the desert? Because I swear, if you even try to make me wear a dress…"

"No, no, that's fine. You'll fit right in with the military. Hey, maybe I could leave you with them? Enrol you in military school." He said, a huge grim on his face.

"They'd kick me out within the first five minutes." She replied, smirking at him. "So, we all set to go then?"

"Uh, actually, I wanted to talk to you about something first." Tony said, making Ruby look at him nervously. "Miss Potts just told me something, something that you said to her. Look, Ruby, you don't have to come if you don't want to. I know that weapons aren't really your thing, that's why you took over on the Arc Reactor. You don't need to do this to be a part of my life. You already are." He assured her.

She let out a sigh, she should have seen this one coming. "I do want to go. And yeah, I may not be big on the weapons, but I know it is a huge part of the company. Which is how it's going to be until my work with the Arc Reactor takes over and steals your spotlight." Ruby said with a grin.

"That confident, huh?" Ruby just nodded at him. "So, you really do want to come? You wouldn't rather stay here and carry on working on Maggie-May?"

"No, that's something we do together or not at all. I really do want to come with you. If you still want me to?" Now she was unsure that he even wanted her to go.

"Of course I want you to come with me, Ruby. I never would have asked you in the first place if I didn't." He said, bringing a smile back to her face. "Now come on, we need to beat Happy to the jet." He said, before grabbing her arm and pulling her along with him back down to the workshop.

The got into one of his many cars, on of his Audi's. As they did, Ruby checked the ear bud that was fixed in her ear. "SWAIN, everything all set?" She called, making Tony glance at her out of the corner of his eye.

_"Everything is all planned, Miss Matthews, and running smoothly."_ SWAIN replied in her ear.

"Good, keep me updated." She said, before relaxing back in her seat.

"Uh, what was that all about?" Tony asked as she started up the engine.

She shrugged at him. "Nothing much. Just a few projects I'm working on. Just because I'm not at the office doesn't mean I can't do some work."

The thought that she had projects, and that she was working, only made him frown. "And what are these projects then?" Tony asked her curiously. "And why do I know nothing about them?"

"It's to do with the Arc Reactor. And the reason why you know nothing about it is because it is my project and it is far from ready yet. I'm still going through the plans and stuff. I keep making changes to it." Ruby told him as she let her eyes fall on the window as they rushed out of the garage and down the driveway.

"So, you have got idea's then? Because we've not had a breakthrough in, what, thirty years?" He told her, glancing in the mirror and seeing the Rolls Royce behind them, desperately trying to catch up.

Ruby chuckled a little. "Yeah, you didn't have a breakthrough because you didn't have me."

"You really think you're onto something with it then?" She just shrugged her response to him. She had been making progress with it, but that hadn't really been the reason why she was checking in with SWAIN. "Well, when we get back, maybe you can run me through it all. I mean, if you want to?"

She managed to smile at him. "Okay, yeah. Yeah, that would be good. Thanks."

"Great. Now, how about we show Happy how to really drive?" Tony said, a smirk on his face as he put his foot down and the car sped off, leaving the black car trailing behind them.

Ruby managed to smirk back at him. "Well, I suppose you have to make up for the lateness some how. What better way than by breaking every single speed limit that you can?" She asked him, knowing that they were going to be late no matter how fast he drove.

He chuckled a little, liking her way of thinking. "You know, I'm still waiting to find out all your dirty little secrets. I know you have some, but I can't find them." Tony said, making conversation as they raced to the Stark Industries where the jet was waiting for them still.

"Secrets? You want to know my secrets?" Ruby asked him, getting a nod from her father. "Okay, my biggest secret is that I have a fear of the dark." She told him casually.

A frown formed on Tony's face. "Uh, no you don't."

"Okay, so strictly speaking it isn't the dark, it's the fear of what the darkness conceals. I've been that was since I was a kid, when I was bullied at school and they locked me in the store room for 7 hours." Ruby was doing good, spinning him a lie mixed with a little of the truth. "No one even noticed I was missing from class."

Tony just blinked a few times. "You were bullied at school?"

Ruby knew she had made a mistake now, she should have just kept her mouth shut. "Uh, yeah. Even the teachers made my life hell. They didn't like the fact that I was always correcting them, that I knew more than them. If I scored too high in a test, the other kids would beat me up. If I corrected a teacher, I got detention." Now that she had started, she just couldn't stop. "Mom didn't find out about it until I came home with bloody hands and blood dripping down my face."

"What the hell did they do to you?" Tony's grip on the steering wheel tightened. He was not pleased to be hearing this, but he did ask for it.

Ruby shrugged her shoulders. "The usual, the kids smacked me about a bit, slammed me into walls, kicked me, pulled my hair." She had to close her eyes a take a deep breath. "I was seven when it all started, and ten when mom finally pulled me out of that school."

Tony didn't really know what to say. He had no idea that she had been through all of that, that his daughter had been bullied because she was smart. It made him sick to his stomach just thinking about it. "And was it any better at the new school?" He asked her.

She shook her head. "Not really. The cycle just started all over again. But I decided that it was time to fight back. So I did, and I got myself into even more trouble."

"I take it this is where your mother getting help and you getting some training comes into it all?" He asked her, his mind still reeling from what he was being told.

"Yeah. I derailed, decided that school was pointless and stopped going. That was when Tasha stepped in. She was pretty tough on me, made me find something to focus on. Training with her helped me to get out all the anger I had with everyone else." She told him, wishing that her mouth would just shut up now. "So there you go, you know my secret."

Once again, Tony didn't really know what to say. It had gone from her telling him she was afraid of the dark, to confessing that she had been bullied at school for being smart. "Got to admit, not quite what I was expecting to hear. But hey, you don't have to worry about anything like that happening ever again. You're a Stark, no one would dare bully a Stark."

Ruby couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Yeah, if only they knew I was a Stark back then. God, I would have loved to see their faces when those idiots found out I was a the daughter of Tony Stark."

"I bet you would. I'd just be a little worried about what you would say to them, and how you would deal with it." Tony told her, keeping an eye out for the Rolls Royce that was somewhere behind them. "Like how you deal with the press."

"I was also taught not to give a damn what the press, or anyone else says or thinks of me. Someone told me that the only opinion that should matter to me is that of the ones closest to me, not of total strangers who know nothing about me." She told him, remember a conversation she had once had with her favourite archer.

"So, that's why you're so harsh with them?"

"I'm not harsh, I'm just not exactly nice. You can be nice to them, but I don't see why I should, they're only interested in me because of who I'm related to." She told him, knowing that it was true. None of those reporters or journalists was interested in her and her views, they only wanted to know about Tony Stark.

"Yeah, and this is why I don't want you talking to them unless I'm there. I never know what is going through that head of yours, or what is going to come out of your mouth." He told her.

Ruby just rolled her eyes at him. "You not meant to know. It's my head." She told him, watching the scenery flash past them. "Anyway, you know a secret of mine, now I think it's only fair that you tell me one of yours."

"I don't have secrets." Tony told her, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the road.

"You're lying." Ruby sang back to him, knowing full well that he had secrets, everyone does, no matter how hard they try to deny it.

"No, I really don't have any secrets. My life has never been personal, everyone can know everything about me if they look hard enough." He was doing a good job at acting like he didn't have one, but Ruby knew better.

"Really, Tony, you do have secrets, we all do. And I told you something of mine, something that I didn't actually plan on telling you either." She said, still slightly shocked that she had let her mouth run away like that and tell him so much.

Tony let out a sigh, knowing that she was going to keep on pestering him. She was too much like him, and too much like her mother. She had no patience, and she knew how to get her own way. "Fine, you want to know a secret? The day your mother left was the worse day of my life." He told her, taking a deep breath. "That was the day I was going to ask her to marry me."

Ruby just looked at him, her mouth hanging open slightly. That really had been a secret, and something pretty big as well. "You were both bloody idiots." She mumbled, folding her arms across her chest and shifting in her seat a little.

"Oh, right, thanks. I tell you my biggest secret, and you call me an idiot." It was clear Tony was not happy with her response.

"I called you both idiots. Mom was an idiot for not talking to you and just walking out, and you were an idiot for not going after her. She took to going into hiding, doing anything and everything to avoid you, while you, Mr Stark, took to the bottle." Tony distinctly heard some spite coming out in her tone, and he knew she had some strong views on what the pair of them had done.

He let out a sigh. "Hey, if I could go back and change it, then I would, honey. I would go back, never be that jerk, marry your mother, and we'd be one happy family." He told her. "Hey, maybe there would even have been more Stark's running around." He teased.

Ruby scoffed at him. "Please, I'm bad enough, you couldn't handle it if there were more."

"Yeah, actually, I think I have to agree there. You are a real handful."

They spent a little time in silence. Both of them thinking over what they had just found out. Tony was certainly not impressed that his daughter had been bullied at school for being smart, and he was not impressed with the way she had ended up handling it. If he had been there, he would have sorted those teachers out, and those kids as well. It actually made him angry to know that they had done that to her.

While Tony was thinking on that, Ruby was mulling over what he had told her. She had always thought that the pair of them were complete idiots. She knew that her mother loved her father, even though she didn't know who he was. But it was as clear as day to her how much she loved him and missed him, and Ruby couldn't help but think she was a fool for not contacting him and trying to make things work. And yes, she did think Tony was an idiot for not gong after her mother. He was Tony Stark, he could have found her in a heartbeat if he really wanted to, but instead he took to drinking more and drowning in alcohol and women.

"Ruby? Hello?" Tony called, one hand on the wheel while he was waving the other in front of her face.

She shook her head and blinked several times. "What?" Ruby asked, looking at him in shock.

"Uh, we're nearly there now. Everything okay?" He asked her, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye as he drove. Happy was right behind them, and Tony wasn't speeding as much as he had been.

"Yeah, sorry. I'm just a little tired. We were up all night working on Maggie-May. You might be perfectly fine to live on caffeine, but I'm certainly not. Plus, I like my sleep." She told him, resting her head in her hand once more.

Tony smiled a little and nodded at her. "Well, you can sleep as much as you want on the jet, okay? I'll wake you up just before we get there so that you can wake up properly and have something to eat. That sound fair to you?" He asked her.

Ruby nodded a little at him. "Yeah, sounds good."

It didn't take them long to pull up at the red carpet that was waiting, leading to the private jet of Tony Stark. "You're good." Happy called, pulling up before the Audi and getting the luggage out of the car.

"I thought I lost you back there." Tony said to him, as Ruby picked up her things.

"You did, sir. I had to cut across Mulholland." Happy told him, a smile on his face.

Ruby looked up and saw Rhodey standing there, his eyes just full of annoyance and anger. "Uh, best puppy dog pout, we're in trouble. Again." She whispered to her father as he pushed her towards the metal stairs to the jet.

"What's wrong with you?" Rhodey asked them as they made their way over.

"What?"

"Three hours." Rhodey told him, having been standing there, waiting for them both, for three long hours, in the blazing sun.

"Yeah, we got caught up with something. Didn't we, honey?" Tony said, looking to his daughter for confirmation.

She just shook her head and looked at him. She had taken the fall for him at the awards ceremony, she was not going to do it again. "Don't bring me into this. I'm tired, I want to go to sleep." Ruby said, walking up the steps.

"For three hours. For three hours you got me standing here." Rhodey was definitely not in a good mood now.

Tony quickly ran up the steps, trying to catch up with his daughter. "Waiting on you now." He said, leaving Rhodey standing outside still. "Let's go. Come on. Wheels up! Rock and roll!"

All Rhodey could do was shake his head as he made his way inside of the jet. It was going to be a long flight, even longer with two Starks on board. But if Ruby was tired, and wanted to sleep, he was hoping he would only have to deal with Tony. He could manage that, just, but he couldn't manage if he had to deal with both of them, at the same time.

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**A/N: I just want to say thank you to everyone who has favourited/followed this or any of my other stories. And I love reading your reviews, so please keep leaving them for me to read.**

**Well, I hope you guys liked this chapter, and the little Tony and Ruby moments. There is a lot more to come, oh, just you wait and see! **

**Pippa. **


	18. Chapter 17

**A/N: I'll apologise now for any spelling and grammar errors. Not exactly well at the moment, and proof reading is difficult with killer headaches. **

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The moment they were on the jet, Ruby slumped down in one of the seats. She was regretting what she had told Tony, but knew there was nothing she could do about it now. There were things she had promised herself that she wouldn't tell Tony, and yet she had already managed to break it by opening her mouth and telling him about her being bullied at school.

"You okay there, honey?" Tony asked her, sitting down on one of the seats over on the other side of the jet.

Ruby nodded at him. "Yeah, just tired, that's all." She told him, wriggling around and trying to make herself more comfortable.

"Once we're up, you can go to bed. Like I said, I'll wake you up when we're nearly there if you're still asleep. Okay?" Again she nodded at him, before taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. Tony could see that she really was tired, and was starting to think that spending all night working on the car might not have been such a great idea.

"Is she okay?" Rhodey asked quietly, sitting down opposite Tony and glance at Ruby a little.

"Yeah, she was just up all night. Now all she wants to do is sleep. She'll probably be out of it for the whole flight." Tony told him, watching as his daughter rested her head in her hand. Although she had told him she was just tired, he couldn't help but feel there was more going on than she was telling him. He couldn't explain why he felt that, he just did.

It didn't take long for the jet to finally make it up and into the air. Tony looked over at his daughter who was already falling asleep. "Hey, come on, honey. Time for you to go to bed now." He told her quietly, undoing the buckle so that she could get up.

"Go away. I'm trying to sleep." Ruby mumbled, trying to bat his hands away but not doing a very good job.

Tony just chuckled at her. "Yeah, and you can sleep. But you'd be better off using one of the bedrooms, honey. You'd be much more comfortable there, not so cramped as trying to sleep in a chair." He told her, helping her to stand up.

"Figures you'd have bedrooms on your jet." She grumbled, giving in and letting Tony half carry her. Her legs were already asleep, and she just didn't have the energy to try and wake them up. "Night, uncle Rhodey."

The man smiled at her as she passed. "Goodnight, mini Stark." Ruby tried to roll her eyes at him, but completely failed at that as well. She wasn't that impressed with the little nickname he had come up for her, but she guessed it did make sense. She was a mini Tony, and Tony was a Stark.

"You sure there's nothing else wrong?" Tony asked her, opening the door to one of the single bedrooms that he had on his private jet.

"I just want to sleep." Ruby told him, rubbing her eyes and trying to stay awake long enough to make it to the bed to collapse onto. "I'm tired."

Tony frowned at her, not sure whether to believe her or not, but he was going to take her word for it, he could see that she really was tired. "Sure, but I suggest you get changed. You're pyjamas are in the draw."

She managed to look at him, a look of confusion on her face before she let out a sigh. "Yeah, you had this all planned, didn't you?"

All he could do was smirk at her a little. "Of course I did, you really think I was going to let you sleep in your clothes?" He asked her, watching as she opened the draw and pulled out the clothes he had put in there for her. He had wanted to be prepared, so made sure that everything she could possibly need was already on the jet before they had even arrived. He had Pepper to thank for that, the moment he had told her, she had sorted it all for him.

"Well, thanks. I guess I didn't think of everything when I was packing. I guess I didn't really think at all." Ruby admitted, sitting on the edge of the bed, struggling to stay awake still.

"Hey, it's okay. Let me know if you need anything, honey." Tony told her, smiling softly at her. "Now get changed and go to bed."

Ruby actually managed to roll her eyes at him. "Yes, sir."

"Goodnight, Ruby."

"Night, Tony." She said, watching him as he left the room. She couldn't help but think that maybe he wasn't too bad a father after all. He really had done so much for her, and he really was trying his best. He was firm with her when he needed to be, but he showed that he did actually care, and she could see that her mom had meant a lot to him.

After getting changed, she was asleep in minutes, while Tony was sitting back with Rhodey. "What you reading, Platypus?" He asked, looking at the man sitting across the table from him, reading something.

"Nothing." The man replied, not taking his eyes away from his newspaper.

"Come on, sour patch. Don't be mad."

"I told you, I'm not mad. I'm indifferent, okay?" Rhodey told him, trying his hardest not to look at the man. Truth was, he was mad at him, he was mad for standing there in the blazing sun for three hours waiting for Tony to show up with Ruby. But when he had seen his favourite little Stark, it had all just melted away. But he wasn't going to let Tony know that.

"I said I was sorry." Tony said, letting out a sigh.

"Good morning Mr Stark." One of the many female flight attendants said, holding a silver tray with hot towels on it. She was wearing the same flirty smile that all the woman wore around him, but before, Tony might have taken advantage of that, but not anymore.

"Hi." He said, barely paying her any attention. "I told him I was sorry, but he…"

"I'm just indifferent right now." Rhodey pressed. The look on his face said everything, he was still annoyed and was doing his best to stay annoyed. "You don't respect yourself, so I know you don't respect me." Rhodey told him, as the pair took hot towels.

Tony knew it was going to be hard work. "I respect you."

But Rhodey wasn't going to crack yet. "I'm just your babysitter. So, when you need your diaper changed, let me know and I'll get you a bottle, okay?"

"Hey, heat up the sake, will you?" Tony said to the attendant, before looking back at his best friend and smiling. "Thanks for reminding me."

James Rhodes looked at him, a slight hint of shock on his face. But really, it was Tony Stark, he should have known better. "No, I'm not talking… we're not drinking. We're working right now."

"You can't have sashimi without sake." Tony countered.

"You are constitutional incapable of being responsible." The moment Rhodey had said it, he felt a slight twinge of guilt.

"So, what's being a father then? Are you saying I'm not being responsible for Ruby? You think I'm doing a bad job at it?" Tony asked him, leaning forward a little and trying to keep himself calm.

"Tony, that is not what I…"

"Since Ruby has been around, a lot of things have changed. How many times have you had to come bail me out for something stupid?" Tony asked him, being deadly serious. "How much of a mess has Miss Potts had to clean up after me? Even my bed has been lonely." He said, referring to the fact that he had not been bringing women home every night.

Rhodey let out a sigh. "Okay, so you're not completely irresponsible. But that is only because Ruby keeps you in line. She's got you wrapped around her little finger." He said, watching as the flight attendant came back over and poured them both some hot sake.

"Oh, really? Just me, is it, Uncle Rhodey?" Tony asked him, a smirk on his face. It wasn't just him that Ruby was able to manipulate, Rhodey and Pepper were just as much targets as he was.

"Hey, what can I say, I have a soft spot for the girl. She reminds me so much of Jasmine, how can I not? I mean, I have to if I want to avoid that glare of hers really." Tony chuckled at that comment, it was always about the glare. Jasmine had been good at it, but Ruby had it spot it, and it was definitely not something that either of the men liked to see.

"Pepper still doesn't agree with Ruby coming along." Tony told him, taking a sip of the sake that had just been poured. "She thinks the only reason that she is coming is so that she can be a part of my life."

Rhodey raised an eyebrow at the man sitting across from him. "And what do you think?"

"I think Ruby is just as stubborn as her mother and is determined to do what she wants, and not what other people want for her."

"Sound a little like someone else as well." Rhodey replied, giving him a pointed look. "I'm not going to let anything happen to Ruby, I'll be right beside her while you're doing your stuff."

"You better be." Tony warned him. "Anything thing happens to my little girl, I'm holding you personally responsible." Rhodey could only nod his head. He had never really seen Tony so concerned before, and was starting to see just how much his best friend was changing with Ruby being around. He was finally starting to pull it together, and Rhodey couldn't stop himself from smiling at that.

While Tony and Rhodey talked about the demonstration, Tony making a few more threats about what he would do if anything happened to his daughter, Ruby was tossing and turning in the bed. She was exhausted, but her mind was plagued with worry, a worry that wasn't going to go away until they were safely back home in Malibu.

Until then, she was stuck in her dreams.

_A young girl stood in a tight black uniform in front of the man with one eye. She was barely 12 now, but she was all they had, the only one they could call in for it. "I'm sending you in with Barton and Romanoff." The man told her in a gruff voice. _

_"But… but you said that I wouldn't be going anywhere until I was at least 16." The young girl retorted, clearly not happy with the decision that had been made. "I think my mother will have something to say about all of this." _

_The man smirked at her. "Your mother knew the risks when she decided to get help from us. She saw your abilities and skills, she wanted you to focus on them and use them. I don't think she is going to mind you going out into the field." _

_She glared at him. "How long you been playing this for? Since the day I was born? I can't help being smart, okay? I didn't go and study every single book I could find, I didn't do anything. The only reason I'm able to fight so well is because I learn quickly." The girl told him. "I mean, you saw how many times Tasha kicked my backside when I first met her." _

_He seemed to be chuckling at the memory. "And now, you both fight on the same level." He reminded her. "The pair of you can try for hours to take the other one out, but in the end, you're both too exhausted to do anything."_

_"Because I know her moves, and she knows mine. What do you expect?" She said, folding her arms across her chest, really trying to give the man some attitude. Only, he had been dealing with her attitude for a long time now, and he knew what to expect from her, and how to get her onto his side. _

_"Look, I need you on this. There is no one else even remotely capable of doing this. Barton and Romanoff are my best agents, you know that, and I they need you and your skills." He told her, trying to work a little bit of flattery into it. _

_"No, Nick." The girl replied bluntly. "I am not doing it." _

_"You don't even know what it is yet." _

_She glared at him, sending a shiver down his spine, even though he done his best not to show it. Oh, that was a glare that sent many men and women running and crying. "I don't care what it is. I'm not doing it, understand? There is nothing you can do that will make me change my mind. Ever. You got that?" She said, turning away from him and heading out of the large office where they had been talking. _

_The man at the desk let out a sigh. He knew it was going to be hard work, but he was sure that he could get her on board in the end. He would do whatever it took, because even if she didn't believe it, she really was their only option. They needed someone young, smart, and able to take care of themselves for the mission. She was their only shot, he had to get her on side. _

_Three people sat in a jet, the silence thick in the air. "I can not believe you two actually convinced me to do this." The rather young, dark haired girl moaned. _

_"We need you on this one, neither of us would have asked you of there was another way. You are the only one who can do this." The red haired woman sitting beside her said. _

_"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You need my brains, my skills, and the fact that I'm just a kid means I'm going to be even less suspicious. You know that is totally rubbish, right? The moment they realise I've got more brains than all of them put together, the whole mission is screwed."_

_The man sitting on the other side of her rolled his eyes. "Chill out, will you? You got me and Nat with you, do you really think we are going to let anything happen to you?" He asked her. _

_"Not intentionally." The brown haired girl told him. "But you're not going to be able to watch me every single second. You have your own tasks to deal with, I can't rely on you and Tasha. I'm going to have to look after myself." _

_"And you are more than capable of looking after yourself, and you know that." Natasha told her, gently placing her hand on top of the girls. "We've been working together for a while now, I know how brilliant you are. Now it's time for you to realise it as well." _

_"Nat's right. You are more than capable of doing this, Red Cobra." The man said, a smug grin on his face. _

_She rolled her eyes at him. "Seriously? Red Cobra? That was the best that you guys could come up with?" _

_A minute later, there was a static voice coming through the radio. "Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Red Cobra, we're approaching the drop point. Get ready." The voice called to them. _

_The girl shivered a little, scared of what was to come. "We have reached the point of no return." She grumbled, as the three of them got everything together. Hawkeye was checking his quiver, making sure he had a full supply of arrows. Black Widow was checking all of her weapons, guns, daggers, and everything else she had concealed in her jumpsuit. While Red Cobra just sat there, twiddling her thumbs. The gun was tucked away in her holster, and the daggers were concealed. There was nothing else for her to check. _

_The next thing the girl knew, she was creeping through a cave, dug into a mountain. So far everything was going fine. She hadn't been caught, and with the ragged clothes she was wearing, she blending in well with the kids that were rushing around. She had to keep herself calm, she couldn't get caught, the whole mission was resting on her getting to that damn computer and getting the information needed from it. _

_Only things didn't keep going the way she had planned, she had finally made it to the computer, and the room was empty bar for her. She let out a sigh of relief, before sitting down and working away at the computer, smiling to herself as she did. Their software was simple enough to crack, and in just a matter of minutes, she knew she would be out of there. That was when everything went wrong, when a man's hand wrapped tightly around her throat._

_"So, you are spy?" The man said, English clearly not his first language. "We have special treat, just for you." She didn't say anything, she didn't even scream as he grabbed hold of her hair and dragged her across the floor. Lucky for her, she had managed to hit the final key and send everything she had needed. _

_She didn't really know what happened after that, but she knew she was in some serious trouble. She reached for her weapons, only to find that all of them were missing. Letting out a sigh, she looked around the room she was in. There was nothing there, just four dirty walls and a solid metal door. She was trapped and she knew it, her only way out now was to rely on her team mates. _

_A few minutes later, the door swung open and a large, balding man entered the room, flanked with armed men. His hand straight away went for her throat. "Who sent you?" He asked her, squeezing tightly, making her choke a little. "Why are you here?" Her hands started grasping at his, trying to pull them away so that she could breathe. _

_After that, she was dragged out of the room. The men didn't seem to care about how rough they were being, she was a spy after all, she had infiltrated their little base and stolen information. "I ask one more, who sent you?" The girl just closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had seen what else was in the room, and she had to mentally and physically prepare herself for it. _

_She had been taught by the best, she could handle it, she was not going to break. That was what she kept telling herself, that she was not going to break, that she was better than that. Then her hair was grabbed again, and her face pushed into the freezing water in the container in the middle of the room. _

_Her whole body shivered at the sudden temperature change, but she continued to hold her breath. They would pull her head out soon enough, she would take a breath, and then they would dunk her back in again. The girl knew that they would only doing for a certain time, they wouldn't kill her until they had the information that they needed, and by then, she hoped, she would be out of there._

_The help didn't come as soon as she had hoped, and after the water, they decided to beat her. At first, she fought back, but realised that was such a stupid mistake when they just went even harder on her. There was no way to escape, the door was locked, and they always came in with guns. _

_Every time the door opened, she wondered which torture they would put her through. When she was alone, that was all she thought about, the torture. She had kept count of the beatings, of the water, of the burns. She knew exactly how long it had been since she had last seen the sunlight, or had something to eat that wasn't stale bread. _

_It was the beginning of the second week, and a new man entered the room. He didn't say a word to her, he just smirked, bearing his dirty teeth. He pulled out a dagger, one of her own daggers. She knew what was coming next, he was going to use it on her. _

_The girl had said nothing, she hadn't even screamed, and that disappointed them more than the fact that she didn't speak. The men wanted to hear her screaming, to hear the pain and suffering that she was enduring. But it never came, and that just made them even more violent. _

_"You do not speak." The man said, getting closer to her with the dagger. "You do not scream. You do not beg for your life." There was disappointment in his eyes. "If you do not speak, you are of no use." He was almost right in front of her now, and although she wanted to scream and cry out, she knew it was of no use. _

_The girl prepared herself for what was going to happen next, only it never came. She heard a familiar whoosh, and the man dropped down to the ground. There was an arrow sticking out of his back, an arrow that she recognised instantly. _

_"Come on, we need to get out of here." Her archer friend said, reaching his hand out to her. _

_"I thought you were never going to get here, Clint." She whispered, her throat dry and her voice coming out hoarse. _

_"I'm here, Ruby, and so is Nat. Now come on, we need to get out of here before the place blows." He told her, grabbing her hand tightly and pulling her along. _

_After that, they had to fight their way out, and all the girl wanted to do was curl up in her bed and forget it had ever happened. She didn't want to admit it, but she had been absolutely petrified. She had never thought it would go so badly, that she would get caught and end up being tortured. She never thought she would be fighting for her life, and trying to outrun the timer of a bomb. But she was, and she never wanted to go through anything like that ever again._

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__**A/N: There is a reason why I have cut it off there, and you will find out next week. Sorry if this chapter is a bit shorter than most, but it will all make sense. **

**So, I hope you enjoyed it, and you got to see a little bit of Ruby's past. There's more to come, a lot more. More about her past with Clint and Natasha coming up.  
**

**Anyway, thank you to everyone who has favourtied/followed, I'm so glad you like the story. And to those who have reviewed, thank you so much, they always make me smile and I love to read them. **

**Feel free to review, and if there is something from Ruby's past that you want to know about, then let me know and I can fit in an explanation to it somewhere soon. **

**Pippa. **


	19. Chapter 18

**A/N: I am sorry for not posting last week. I was still ill and my head would spin when looking at the screen. But all good now, sorry for the wait.**

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Tony and Rhodey were sitting on the curved couch on the private jet. Both the men had a drink in their hand, while the music played in the background, music that Tony had kept turning down. The flight attendants had been turning it up, and joining in with the party atmosphere, much to Tony's dislike. He turned it down, worried that it would wake Ruby up, and sent the flight attendants on their way. He didn't want them intruding, which was a little of a shock to Rhodey.

"That's what I'm talking about." Rhodey told him, clearly at least a little tipsy. "When I get up in the morning and I'm putting on my uniform, you know what I recognise?" He said, not acknowledging the fact that Tony didn't seem to be listening. "I see in that mirror that every person that's got this uniform on got my back." He finished.

"Hey, you know what? I'm not like you." Tony told him, taking a swig of the drink in his hand. "I'm not cut out…"

"No, no." Rhodey interrupted, causing Tony to roll his eyes. "You don't have to be like me. But you're more than what you are. Just look at you, Tony, ever since Ruby came, you've changed."

"Well what do you expect? It's not just me anymore, I have to look after her, I have to do what's right by her." He told his best friend. "I have to make my daughter my number one priority."

"Yeah, and you will. You know you will, I know you will, and she knows you will." Rhodey rambled. Tony laughed a little, but his smile quickly turned into a frown. "We all saw how worried you were when she had to go to the hospital."

"Did you hear that?" Tony asked, suddenly sitting upright.

"What? Tony, all I can hear is the music." Rhodey told him, frowning at his friend.

Tony turned the music off completely and made a signal for his friend to just listen. They both did, and a moment later they both heard a scream. "Ruby…" Tony said, before jumping off the couch and heading to the bedroom where she was sleeping.

The door flew open and Tony rushed in, his daughter thrashing and screaming in the bed before him. He had seen her have a nightmare before, and SWAIN told him not to wake her. But that had been nowhere near as bad as what he was seeing now. The beads of sweat were trickling down her face and her hair was definitely damp.

"JARVIS, I need SWAIN. Now!" Tony shouted, sitting on the edge of the bed, wishing that there were something he could do to help his daughter.

"Yes, sir." JARVIS replied, his voice echoing through the room.

A few minutes later, SWAIN was coming through to the room the same way that JARVIS would usually be heard. "How can I help, Mr Stark?" He asked from his room in Denver.

"SWAIN, she's having another nightmare, but this one seems a lot worse. She's screaming and hitting anything and everything." Tony said, the worry seeping though his voice. Rhodey was just standing there, quickly sobering up at the sight that was before him.

There was silence for a moment, while SWAIN assessed the situation. "I would recommend you wake her up, Mr Stark. I advise Colonel Rhodes to assist you, she will become violent." SWAIN told him.

"Tony, what the hell is going on?" Rhodes asked him, suddenly feeling a lot more sober than he was minutes before.

"Uh, nightmares, she… she has nightmares. Sometimes she gets violent while she's having them. We need to wake her up." Tony said, trying to rack his brain and work out what the hell to do to wake her up. "Uh, hold her legs down. And try not to let her kick you in the face." He said to his friend.

"And when you say violent?" Rhodey didn't need to say anything else, as a pair of legs flailed in the air and almost knocked him over. "Okay, never mind." He said, before gasping hold of her ankles tightly and doing his best to keep them still. It was already turning out to be a bit of a struggle, she was a lot stronger than she seemed, especially for someone who was sleeping.

While Rhodey was dealing with her legs, Tony had a tight hold of her wrists, stopping her arms from thrashing out and hitting him. His heart was pounding in his chest as he listened to her screams. "Ruby, you need to wake up." He shouted over her cries. "Ruby, come on, wake up!"

Rhodey was struggling to keep her still, she was a lot stronger than he had anticipated. "Tony…" He said, more as a warning as he was nearly kicked off the bed where he was resting and holding her down.

"Ruby, honey, come on, it's just a nightmare, come on. Please, just wake up, honey. Wake up." The man was pleading now. He had never experienced something so terrifying in his life as what he was going through now with his daughter.

When her appendix had almost burst, they had been on solid ground, and managed to get her to the hospital extremely fast. But this was different, her screams and her cries made it sound like she was in so much pain, and there was nothing Tony could do but try to wake her up.

Suddenly her whole body twisted, and all three of them landed on the floor. Rhodey landed on her legs, managing to keep them completely still under his weight, while Tony only had a hold of one of her arms. Ruby's other arm was around his neck, tight, but not enough to stop his breathing.

"Christ, Tony!" His friend shouted, seeing what had happened. And yet, there was nothing much else that Rhodey could do apart from trying to keep the young woman still. His heart was pounding in his chest as well, and he was sure that neither he nor Tony was going to make it to the air base in one piece and completely unharmed.

Tony grasped at the arm that was trying to cut off his airways. As his daughter screamed again, her grip loosened and he managed to yank her arm away from him. "Ruby, for God sake, wake up!" Tony shouted once more, before letting out of a sigh. "Come on, honey. Please, it's just a nightmare, wake up." He was getting desperate now, he had no idea what to do to wake her up. Shouting at her wasn't work.

Both the men just held her down for a few more minutes, while Tony racked his brain, trying to think of something to do to help. He felt like everything was falling apart around him, and that he was failing as a father and wasn't fit to look after Ruby. Now he was starting to think that he should have left her with Pepper, that maybe he should have forced her to stay behind.

"Mr Stark, her heart rate is beginning to lower." SWAIN called a few minutes later, having been keeping en eye on her with the help of JARVIS. They had been working well as a team, SWAIN providing all previous information of her heart rate and everything else when Ruby has had nightmares, and JARVIS comparing them to the current situation. It seemed like the two AI's were really hitting it off.

Tony looked down at his daughter, there were still beads of sweat on her forehead, and the screaming seemed to have turned into whimpers. "Hey, come on, honey." He said gently, brushing away the hair that was sticking to her face. "You need to wake up now."

Finally, she started to groan, her arms no longer trying to fight against her father, and her legs still restrained by Rhodey. A few moments later, and her eyes flickered open, adjusting to the light as her mind trying to clear of the fog.

"Hey, Ruby? Look at me." Tony urged her softly. After several blinks, her eyes locked with his. They were still filled with tears, and Tony was surprised to find that his were as well. "You're okay, honey. It was just a nightmare." He was relieved that she was finally awake, that her grey eyes were opened and focusing on him.

"Did I hurt anyone?" Ruby asked, her voice rough from all the screaming. Tony quickly looked over at his best friend, who had now moved off her legs and was shaking his head.

He turned his attention back to his daughter. "No, no one was hurt, honey." Tony assured her, before wrapping his arms around her tightly. "Are you okay?" He managed to whisper to her.

He felt her nodding against him. "Yeah, I'm good. Just a stupid nightmare. Stupid, stupid nightmare." Ruby mumbled to herself. Of course she knew it wasn't just s stupid nightmare, it had been so much more than that. But how could she ever tell Tony about it? She was desperate not to let him find out about her past.

That was the problem. Everyone had something in their past that haunted them, that they wanted to forget about. Unfortunately, Ruby had done a lot in her past that she wasn't very proud off, but she vowed to stay off that track, and everyone else who knew her agreed, even those who had pushed her into doing those things agreed. She was still young at the time, and had already been through enough, she was lucky to get out when she did.

"Are you sure, Ruby? I mean, it was pretty bad. No one got hurt, but you still managed to put up a bit of a struggle." Her father told her, conveniently leaving out the fact that she had almost strangled him. Tony was sure that if he told her that, she would freak out and panic, that was the last thing he wanted to happen. Besides, he knew that she never meant to do that.

She nodded at him. "Yeah, I'm sure. I already know it was bad, what with the way my legs and wrists are hurting. I take it you had a little trouble restraining me as you tried to wake me?" Ruby asked, glancing over at Rhodey and giving him a slight smile.

Tony ran his hand through his already seriously messed up hair. "Uh, yeah. But hey, no damage done, right? The jet is still in one piece, and so are we." He didn't really know what else to say. There was a part of him that wanted to prod and probe, and try to find out exactly what that nightmare of hers was about. But then there was another part of him that was absolutely terrified of what it could be. He wasn't going to push her to tell him, he was going to leave that choice up to her.

"Well, you two can get back to whatever it was you were doing now." Ruby told them, wincing a little as she got up from the ground. "I'm going to get some more sleep."

At her announcement for more sleep, both Tony and Rhodey found their eyes widening as they shared a concerned and anxious glace. "Uh, yeah, I'm not sure you should just yet, you just had a pretty bad nightmare, I don't want you having another." He told his daughter while Rhodey quietly slipped out of the room.

"I'll be fine." Ruby told him, sitting on the bed with Tony resting beside her now. "It was just a nightmare, nothing anyone can do about it. Just accept it and move on." Tony could see that she was trying to be strong, to be brave and not care about it all, but he could see it in her eyes. Her eyes were betraying her, letting out more emotion that she wanted, telling everyone that she was still scared.

Tony let out a sigh, knowing that in some ways she was right. "Okay, how about we make a deal. You sleep, but this time on the couch." He told her. "That way you can sleep, and I can keep an eye on you."

Ruby thought about it for a moment, running her hand for the mess of dark curls on her head. Her scalp was still a little sweaty, and her hair damp because of it all. Eventually, she nodded. "Okay, I guess that seems fair." She whispered. Ruby really wasn't in the mood to argue with him or anyone else. She was pretty exhausted, and thrashing around from a nightmare really hasn't helped her. The nerves that she was feeling probably didn't make it any better for her.

Her father smiled at her softly. "Good. Now, give me the sheets." He demanded, holding his arms out and waiting for her to pull them off the bed and pass them to him.

Once they were all bundled into his arms, Ruby smiled at him. "I need to go and sort myself out." She said, wanting to go and throw a bucket of freezing cold water over her head. "You know, get cleaned up a bit."

Tony nodded to her, his eyes not leaving hers. He was still searching them for some clue as to what the hell had happened in her head. "Sure, take all the time you need." He said, kissing the top of her head and walking out of the bedroom.

Rhodey was standing there, arms folded in front of his chest as he leaned against one of the chairs. "How she doing now, Tony?" The man asked, watching as he turned the couch into a bed. He had left the room so as not to intrude, Ruby was awake, she was mostly okay, he didn't need to be there while Tony spoke to her. They needed to be left alone.

"Uh, she's okay. Awake, and getting herself cleaned up." He told his best friend, his mind still completely somewhere else as he set out the sheets from the bed on the curved couch that they had previously been sitting, drinking and chatting on.

"You did good, Tony." His friend assured him, placing a hand on the man's shoulder. "You did real good. Only a father would hear the screams of his daughter over all that music we had going on."

"Yeah?" Tony asked him, clearly not convinced he was doing a pretty good job at being a father. Something else that pushed him into thinking he wasn't doing it right was what Ruby always called him. He was Tony, not dad. At times she would refer to him as her father, but she had never once called him dad. And although he would never admit it, it really did hurt him.

"Yeah, real good. Man, I can't believe how much you've changed since Ruby came into your life." Rhodey said, sitting down in one of the chairs while Tony sat just beside where he had made the bed for Ruby. "You're more thoughtful and considerate. You care more about your daughter than you do with sleeping around. You haven't been going to wild parties and getting drunk. I'm proud of you, Tony."

"You really think I'm doing okay?" Tony Stark rarely valued anyone's opinion, but something like this, coming from his best friend, it meant a lot to him.

"Of course you are, Tony. You need to stop doubting yourself. You're doing a great job with her. We all know she isn't the easiest of people, considering who her parents are, but you've done well, and kept her out of trouble. Mostly." There was a slight smirk on Rhodey's face now. "I mean, there is no way in hell you're ever going to get 'dad of the year' or anything, but you're still doing good."

A moment later, Ruby stepped into the room, her hair now tidy and tied back once more and her face dried of any tears. "How you feeling, honey?" Tony asked her as she shuffled over to where he was sitting down. He couldn't help but notice how pale she was looking now.

"Still tired." She grumbled, plonking herself down right beside Tony. "I hope you two are going to keep the noise down while I try to get some more sleep."

"I've got some things to go through. So you won't hear a peep out of me, Ruby." Rhodey told her, giving her a smile from where he was sitting. He had some files and magazines spread out in front of him, it actually did look like he had things to be doing.

Tony chuckled a little, he actually had things to be reading through as well, but he wasn't going to. "Of course we are, honey. So you just lay down and get some more sleep, okay?" He said, not moving from where he was sitting and determined not to leave her on her own.

Ruby eventually did fall back to sleep, on the couch, with her head resting on the pillow in Tony's lap. She had fallen asleep with him still holding onto her, and not long after that, he had ended up falling asleep as well. It was a sight that made Rhodey smile, Tony Stark and his daughter, cuddled up on the couch together, both at least half smiling.

It was certainly a something that he had never imagined seeing before. Rhodey stood up from where he was sitting, his own eyes starting to sting from the tiredness, and grabbed another blanket. He tossed it over the sleeping Stark's, giving them one last look and another smile, before he grabbed a blanket and crashed out himself.

Tony didn't know how long he had slept for, but he woke up to find Ruby still sleeping with her head resting on the pillow in his lap. When he looked down at her, he couldn't help but think how peaceful she was, compared to the scene that he and Rhodey had dealt with earlier when she had gone to sleep.

When he looked up, he saw that there was one of the flight attendants standing by the side, patiently waiting. As soon as their eyes locked, she nodded at him. "We should be landing in two hours, Mr Stark." She told him quietly.

He nodded back at her. "Uh, great. Yeah, thanks." Tony said, moving his head from side to side, trying to stretch it out a little. He realised that the only way he was going to be able to move, was going to be by waking up hi daughter. "Hey, Ruby? Time to get up and eat now." He whispered to her, gently trying to wake her up.

She let out a groan as she rolled over onto her back, her head now facing the ceiling. "How long till landing?" Ruby mumbled, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Two hours. Time for you to get up, have something to eat, and get yourself ready." Tony told her, watching her stretch out her own limbs. He so badly needed to do that, his back was aching a little and his legs felt dead. He needed her to get up so that he could move around.

Another groan came from her lips. "Five more minutes." I mumbled, tugging at the blankets and wrapping them tighter around her body.

Tony let out a chuckle. "Nope. Come on, we made a deal. You need to get up now and eat, that was the deal if I let you sleep on the jet." He grabbed the blankets in his hands and tore them away from her, leaving her to shiver slightly from the sudden loss of the warm blankets.

"That was mean." Ruby grumbled, as she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep warm as she threw her legs over the side, letting her feet touch the floor. "I only asked for five more minutes, not five more hours."

"Well you're up now. So you might as well go and get showered and changed. You don't want to go out in front of the US Army looking like that, do you?" Tony asked her, looking up and down at her loose blue and yellow chequered pyjama bottoms and the blue tank top she was wearing.

Ruby just shrugged her shoulders at him. "I might as well. Not like they're going to be paying any attention to me, are they? All eyes will be on you and the new weapon." She told him. "I'm going to be able to sneak off and do a little exploring."

"No, because you are not leaving my side." Rhodey called, entering the room after having freshened himself up a bit. "While Tony is presenting, you are going to be with me, is that understood, Miss Matthews-Stark?"

Ruby didn't like it when her uncle Rhodey used her full last name like that, it meant that he was deadly serious. "Yes, sir." She said, giving him a small salute but making sure her face was showing nothing.

"My job is to protect you and your father, and I promised Pepper that I would make sure you were safe. Clear?" He said, in complete military mode.

"Yes, sir."

Tony chuckled a little, making both of them turn to face him. "I told you, she'd fit right in with the military."

Ruby just rolled her eyes at him. "I'm going to shower and change." She said, pushing herself up from the couch. "Since I'm not allowed to go back to sleep."

"Food will be ready for when you're done." Her father told her. Ruby simply nodded at him, before walking through the jet and to the rather large bathroom with a shower in it.

She still couldn't get over the fact that she was in a jet with bedrooms and full bathrooms. Ruby knew she shouldn't really be surprised, her father was Tony Stark after all, and he did like to live in style. But it was still something she wasn't used to, a whole life that was different for her.

Ruby didn't spend too long in the shower, long enough to clean herself up and wake up properly. She was still trying to shake off that stupid nightmare that she had, the nightmare of a memory from her past. That's what they always her, fragments of her past haunting her in her dreams.

She pulled on her clothes, the same ones she had boarded the jet in. Ruby knew that Tony would be walking out in a crisp, clean suit, but she didn't need to. She patted down her cargo pants, making sure that everything she needed was there, and safely out of sight. Ruby knew that she would get into a lot of trouble with both her father and Rhodey if they knew what she was doing.

"SWAIN, is everything still all okay?" She asked nervously, hoping that nothing had gone wrong or was going to go wrong.

_"Yes, Miss Matthews."_ The British voice replied in her ear. _"There have been no issues and everything is going as planned. You have nothing to worry about." _Even he knew she was stressing over it all, and he could do very little to reassure her.

"Okay, thanks. I'm going to lose you when I'm out of the jet. When I get back, remind me to do a few more upgrades, new ear buds as well." She said, tying up the laces to on the black military style boots she was wearing. Tony had been right, the way she was dressed, she really would fit in well there.

_"Of course, Miss Matthews. Will there be anything else?" _He asked her.

"No, that's all SWAIN. Play nice with JARVIS while we're gone." Ruby said, finishing with her laces and standing up to make sure everything was all good to go.

_"I shall, Miss Matthews. And do stay safe, do not stray from Colonel Rhodes."_ The comment made Ruby snicker a little. She did find it amusing the way he acted sometimes, she wondered if she hadn't over programmed him and given him too many emotional aspects.

"Yes, SWAIN. I'll be back before you know it, don't you worry. Now stop bugging me, I have to go and bug the US army." She said, before slipping out of the room and back to where Tony and Rhodey were waiting for her.

Everything was set. She had people watching them from a distance, ready to jump in if anything should happen. SWAIN knew the drill, he knew when they were due back on the jet, and he knew what to do if they never arrived. And she had her own little back up plan, one that she was sure neither her father nor her uncle Rhodey would ever approve of. But it made her feel safer, because she knew how to defend herself if it came to it, and she was not going to be afraid.

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**A/N: So, I do hope that it was worth the wait. Obviously the next chapter is going to be the big one, the one you are all so excited about, the one you just can't wait to read. Or is it? **

**Thank you to everyone who has favourited/followed. You guys are brilliant. And for all who have reviewed, you are magnificent. Keep those reviews coming, I like to hear what you all think.**

**Until next time, where there will be most twists and turns! **

**Pippa.**


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